Benefit checks make up 41 cents of every dollar of income in Guadalupe County, New Mexico
In Guadalupe County, 40.7% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives Guadalupe County's score
In Guadalupe County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 76.6. Late payments on loans come next, at 60.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Guadalupe 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.
Guadalupe County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (1.6%, August 2025) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (23.3, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.3% · 202492nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.6% · 202481st percentile
- People with a disability23.6% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- People without health insurance5.1% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,579 · 202494th percentile
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- 60.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.1% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.6% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.6% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
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- 59.6 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 rent15.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.6% · fiscal year 202785th percentile
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- 54.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202675th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.0% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
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- 42.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.1% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people23.3 · 20255th or lower 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 Guadalupe 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 Guadalupe County, 17.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Guadalupe County
New Mexico
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Guadalupe County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 33.2% in 2004 to 41.6% in 2009.
In Guadalupe County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 40.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Guadalupe County, New Mexico, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 40.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Guadalupe County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 24.5% in 2022 to 32.7% in 2023.
The share of households in Guadalupe County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 9.6% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Guadalupe County, New Mexico.
How Guadalupe County has changed
Guadalupe County's population had its largest rise, from 4,445 in 1999 to 4,731 in 2004.
Guadalupe County's population fell 12% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 5,000 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Guadalupe County, New Mexico.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Guadalupe County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,487, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
High on the chart: 1,514 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Guadalupe County, New Mexico.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 12.1% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 33.4% | 2024 22.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,228 | 2024 $47,579 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Guadalupe County's history
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 10,927. The 2020 Census counted 4,452, 41% of the peak. Census Bureau
2013
A flood in September 2013 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1998
9 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Guadalupe County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Guadalupe County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Guadalupe County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Guadalupe County ranks 3rd of the six; Quay County is highest, at 45.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Miguel County, NM | 77 | 26.0% | 45.4% |
| Torrance County, NM | 74 | 20.2% | 34.2% |
| Quay County, NM | 67 | 20.6% | 45.7% |
| Guadalupe County, NM | 64 | 22.3% | 40.7% |
| Lincoln County, NM | 62 | 15.5% | 33.4% |
| De Baca County, NM | 57 | 16.9% | 34.9% |
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 Guadalupe County the poorest county in New Mexico?
No, Guadalupe County's poverty rate was 22.3% in 2024, 7th 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, Guadalupe County ranks 22nd of 33 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Guadalupe 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 Guadalupe 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 Guadalupe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.