About one in four people in Texas County, Missouri, has a disability
In Texas County, 25.0% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Texas County's score
In Texas County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 87.1. Jobs come next, at 69.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Texas County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Texas County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (82, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.3% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.8% · 202478th percentile
- People with a disability25.0% · 2020 to 202496th percentile
- People without health insurance13.3% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,849 · 202491st percentile
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- 69.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202657th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.2% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
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- 68.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.9% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.2% · second quarter of 202664th percentile
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- 55.7 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent16.3% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.2% · fiscal year 202772nd percentile
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- 48.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.7% · August 202570th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people82 · 202526th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Texas County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Texas County, 21.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Texas County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Texas County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 37% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Texas County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Texas County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.3% in 2019 to 12.6% in 2020.
The share of households in Texas County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 12.4% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Texas County, Missouri.
How Texas County has changed
Texas County's population had its largest rise, from 18,449 in 1969 to 20,461 in 1974.
Texas County's population rose 39% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 25,790 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Texas County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Texas County had its largest rise in the last span, from 5,351 in 2020 to 5,831 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Texas County was about the same in 2025 as in 1990
High on the chart: 6,056 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Texas County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.3% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.6% | 2024 19.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,664 | 2024 $49,849 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Texas County's history
1820
Pioneers from Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Carolinas set up sawmills along Big Piney River, 1820s. Wikipedia
1845
February 14, 1845 (organized). Wikipedia
1954
A tornado in March 1954 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1979
A tornado in April 1979 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in March 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 26,008. The 2020 Census counted 24,487, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
2017
A flash flood in April 2017 did $8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Texas County, 20 of them for flooding. FEMA
Texas County beside its neighbors
Texas County scores higher than all eight counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Texas County ranks 5th of the nine; Shannon County is highest, at 39.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas County, MO | 77 | 19.3% | 36.5% |
| Howell County, MO | 75 | 18.6% | 35.9% |
| Douglas County, MO | 74 | 17.8% | 38.6% |
| Shannon County, MO | 71 | 21.3% | 39.1% |
| Wright County, MO | 70 | 19.0% | 37.4% |
| Laclede County, MO | 68 | 14.9% | 30.9% |
| Dent County, MO | 62 | 14.4% | 38.8% |
| Phelps County, MO | 52 | 17.1% | 29.2% |
| Pulaski County, MO | 50 | 14.7% | 24.5% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Texas County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Texas County's poverty rate was 19.3% in 2024, 12th highest of 115 in Missouri (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Dunklin County, at 25.4%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Texas County ranks 16th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Texas County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Legal Services of Southern Missouri
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Texas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.