About two in five people with a credit file in Lea County, New Mexico, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Lea County, 40.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lea County's score
In Lea County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 85.3. People with a credit card behind: 8.3%, August 2025, higher than in 86% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 69.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lea 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.
Lea County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (31.9, 2025) and people with a disability (13.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.3% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.6% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.2% · second quarter of 202682nd percentile
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- 69.5 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 202655th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.5% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 61.6 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 rent20.1% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.8% · fiscal year 202760th percentile
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- 55.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.7% · 202468th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.6% · 202458th percentile
- People with a disability13.7% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- People without health insurance14.9% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,147 · 202432nd percentile
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- 48.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector40.4% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people31.9 · 20253rd 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 Lea 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 Lea County, 11.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lea County
New Mexico
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lea County had its largest rise, from 9.0% in 1984 to 14.5% in 1989.
In Lea County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 19.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Lea County, New Mexico, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lea County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 17.8% in 2023 to 19.8% in 2024.
The share of households in Lea County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 19.8%, the highest on the chart
Low on the chart: 10.1% 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, Lea County, New Mexico.
How Lea County has changed
Lea County's population had its largest rise, from 55,374 in 1979 to 64,992 in 1984.
Lea County's population rose by about half to 75,151, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 75,151 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lea County, New Mexico.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lea County nearly doubled to 34,047, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 34,047. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lea County, New Mexico.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.8% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.6% | 2024 15.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,825 | 2024 $73,147 |
The table uses 3.5% 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 Lea County's history
1982
A tornado in May 1982 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
Lightning in August 1996 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
Hail in May 1997 did $27 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
Hail in September 2016 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 74,455, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1992
6 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lea County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lea County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Lea County, in New Mexico and Texas, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lea County ranks 5th of the 10; Chaves County is highest, at 29.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chaves County, NM | 89 | 21.6% | 29.1% |
| Cochran County, TX | 79 | 20.8% | 27.4% |
| Roosevelt County, NM | 77 | 20.1% | 28.1% |
| Lea County, NM | 73 | 15.7% | 19.0% |
| Eddy County, NM | 55 | 15.1% | 16.6% |
| Andrews County, TX | 48 | 10.5% | 14.9% |
| Winkler County, TX | 43 | 14.3% | 15.1% |
| Yoakum County, TX | 41 | 12.6% | 19.8% |
| Gaines County, TX | 33 | 12.2% | 14.2% |
| 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 Lea County the poorest county in New Mexico?
No, Lea County's poverty rate was 15.7% in 2024, 25th 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, Lea County ranks 17th of 33 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lea 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 Lea County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.