In Quay County, New Mexico, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2020
In 2024, 46 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 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Quay County's score
In Quay County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 78.2. The typical household earns $47,346 a year (2024), less than in 94% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 68.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Quay 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.
Quay County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (35.3, 2025) and people without health insurance (5.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line31.4% · 202493rd percentile
- People with a disability24.1% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,346 · 202494th percentile
- People below the poverty line20.6% · 202488th percentile
- People without health insurance5.0% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
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- 68.5 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.0% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average4.7% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202673rd percentile
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- 62.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.0% · August 202547th percentile
- People with a credit card behind5.8% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.9% · second quarter of 202684th percentile
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- 56.6 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.8% · fiscal year 202786th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent13.9% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
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- 33.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.7% · August 202562nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people35.3 · 20255th or lower percentile
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Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
Where the money in Quay County comes from
The Bureau of Economic Analysis adds up all the income that reaches the people of a county and splits it three ways: pay from work, income from investments and rent, and benefit checks. 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 Quay County, 26.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Quay County
New Mexico
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Quay County in 2024, pay from work was 39 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 15 cents. Benefit checks were 46 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
In Quay County, benefit checks overtook pay in 2020, a bigger share of income than across New Mexico
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Quay County, New Mexico, every fifth year and 2024: benefit checks 14.2% and pay 66.9% in 1969; benefit checks 45.7% and pay 39.3% in 2024.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
In 1969, pay was 67 cents of every dollar here and benefit checks were 14 cents.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis counts SNAP food aid as one of the benefit checks. In the SNAP chart below, the biggest rise came between 2022 and 2023.
The share of households in Quay County getting SNAP food aid rose from 10.3% in 2009 to 30.5% in 2024, ending at its highest point
Biggest rise: 23.6% in 2022 to 27.9% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Quay County, New Mexico.
How Quay County has changed
In the population chart below, the biggest drop came between 1999 and 2004.
Quay County's population fell by about 23% from 1969 to 2024, ending at its lowest point
High: 11,515 in 1984; low: 8,403 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Quay County, New Mexico.
In the jobs chart below, the biggest drop came between 2000 and 2005.
The number of jobs located in Quay County fell by about 25% from 1990 to 2024
High: 3,345 in 1990; low: 2,435 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2024, Quay County, New Mexico.
The number of people living in Quay County fell by about 23% between 1969 and 2024, from 10,900 to 8,403. The number of jobs located there fell by about 25% from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 7.3% in 1990 to 3.9% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.7% | 2024 20.6% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $18,948 | 2024 $47,346 |
Two unemployment rates appear on this page, both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: 3.9% is the average for 2025, and the score uses 4.7%, the average of the latest 12 months (Sep 2025 to Aug 2026).
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Quay County's history
1903
Created February 28, 1903. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 14,912. The 2020 Census counted 8,746, 59% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
A tornado in March 2007 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Quay County. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Quay County beside its neighbors
Of the 10 counties that border Quay County, in New Mexico and Texas, four score higher. Of the group, Quay County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (45.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curry County, NM | 78 | 16.8% | 25.4% |
| San Miguel County, NM | 77 | 26.0% | 45.4% |
| Roosevelt County, NM | 77 | 20.1% | 28.1% |
| Deaf Smith County, TX | 70 | 16.8% | 15.5% |
| Quay County, NM | 67 | 20.6% | 45.7% |
| Guadalupe County, NM | 64 | 22.3% | 40.7% |
| Union County, NM | 60 | 18.3% | 41.9% |
| De Baca County, NM | 57 | 16.9% | 34.9% |
| Harding County, NM | 47 | 14.4% | 33.4% |
| Oldham County, TX | 47 | 12.7% | 14.0% |
| Hartley County, TX | 22 | 9.2% | 3.8% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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 Quay County the poorest county in New Mexico?
No, Quay County's poverty rate was 20.6% in 2024, 9th 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, Quay County ranks 21st of 33 in the state.
Quay County in photographs
Places in Quay County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
Quay County, New Mexico Courthouse.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Quay County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The counseling to avoid foreclosure is free, and a counselor can help you talk to your mortgage company and understand what it offers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Source CFPB.
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New Mexico Legal Aid
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,012 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 Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- Two-bedroom rent 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 Quay County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.