In Catron County, New Mexico, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2015
In 2024, 44 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 76% of U.S. counties.
What drives Catron County's score
In Catron County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 94.6. About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 (44.1%, 2020 to 2024) aren't working, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 81.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Catron 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.
Catron County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (78.4, 2025) and people with unpaid debt sent to a collector (17.4%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.6 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202694th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working44.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 81.8 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 rent22.5% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.1% · fiscal year 202788th percentile
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- 80.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.0% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line38.5% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability37.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance6.3% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,654 · 202493rd percentile
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- 44.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.0% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202551st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.4% · second quarter of 202639th percentile
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- 26.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector17.4% · August 202528th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people78.4 · 202524th 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 Catron 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 Catron County, 47.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Catron County
New Mexico
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Catron County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across New Mexico
In Catron County, New Mexico, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 43.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Catron County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop in the last span, from 16.2% in 2023 to 9.3% in 2024.
The share of households in Catron County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen to 9.3%
Low on the chart: 3.7% 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, Catron County, New Mexico.
How Catron County has changed
Catron County's population nearly doubled to 3,795, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 3,413. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Catron County, New Mexico.
The number of jobs located in Catron County rose most in two steps: 614 in 2010 to 658 in 2015; 646 in 2020 to 690 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Catron County rose by about a fifth to 690, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 658. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Catron County, New Mexico.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 15.2% | 2025 5.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.2% | 2024 19.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,211 | 2024 $48,654 |
The table uses 5.5% for 2025; the score uses 6.3% 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 Catron County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 4,881. The 2020 Census counted 3,579, 73% of the peak. Census Bureau
2009
Lightning in August 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flash flood in September 2013 did $1.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flash flood in September 2013 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1972
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Catron County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Catron County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Catron County, in New Mexico and Arizona, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Catron County ranks 3rd of the seven; Apache County is highest, at 51.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cibola County, NM | 95 | 25.9% | 41.0% |
| Socorro County, NM | 92 | 28.5% | 38.7% |
| Apache County, AZ | 90 | 29.3% | 51.0% |
| Catron County, NM | 76 | 19.0% | 43.6% |
| Grant County, NM | 74 | 17.3% | 39.7% |
| Sierra County, NM | 73 | 20.6% | 49.9% |
| Greenlee County, AZ | 28 | 9.8% | 25.4% |
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 Catron County the poorest county in New Mexico?
No, Catron County's poverty rate was 19.0% in 2024, 15th highest of 33 in New Mexico (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Socorro County, at 28.5%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Catron County ranks 13th of 33 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Catron 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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New Mexico Legal Aid
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.
Download the CSV for Catron County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
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 Catron County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.