About one in three people with a credit file in Eddy County, New Mexico, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Eddy County, 32.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 79% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Eddy County's score
In Eddy County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 81.1. People with a credit card behind: 7.9%, August 2025, higher than in 83% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 55.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Eddy 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.
Eddy County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (59.7, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.9% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.3% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.2% · second quarter of 202682nd percentile
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- 55.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202634th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.5% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 52.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.1% · 202465th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.2% · 202445th percentile
- People with a disability16.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- People without health insurance9.8% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,342 · 202428th percentile
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- 47.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.2% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people59.7 · 202514th percentile
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- 32.7 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 rent13.3% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202741st 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 Eddy 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 Eddy County, 14.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Eddy County
New Mexico
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Eddy County had its largest drop, from 20.7% in 2009 to 16.3% in 2014.
In Eddy County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 16.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Eddy County, New Mexico, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Eddy County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 14.2%, with most of the change between 2023 and 2024
High on the chart: 14.6% in 2017. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Eddy County, New Mexico.
How Eddy County has changed
Eddy County's population had its largest rise, from 41,086 in 1974 to 47,327 in 1979.
Eddy County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 61,436
High on the chart: 61,950 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Eddy County, New Mexico.
The number of jobs located in Eddy County had its largest rise, from 23,547 in 2010 to 28,351 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Eddy County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 34,421, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 18,846. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Eddy County, New Mexico.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.8% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.5% | 2024 15.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,311 | 2024 $75,342 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Eddy County's history
1990
A thunderstorm in March 1990 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
Hail in June 1992 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A flash flood in September 2014 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 62,314, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in June 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1984
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Eddy County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Eddy County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Eddy County, in New Mexico and Texas, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Eddy County ranks 4th of the seven; Otero County is highest, at 30.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chaves County, NM | 89 | 21.6% | 29.1% |
| Otero County, NM | 75 | 19.3% | 30.7% |
| Lea County, NM | 73 | 15.7% | 19.0% |
| Reeves County, TX | 71 | 16.8% | 15.5% |
| Culberson County, TX | 67 | 18.2% | 16.0% |
| Eddy County, NM | 55 | 15.1% | 16.6% |
| Loving County, TX | 28 | 6.3% | 6.7% |
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 Eddy County the poorest county in New Mexico?
No, Eddy County's poverty rate was 15.1% in 2024, 27th 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, Eddy County ranks 29th of 33 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Eddy 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.
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 Eddy County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.