In Union County, New Mexico, benefit checks brought in more money than paychecks in 2024
In 2024, 42 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 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Union County's score
In Union County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 84.1. About one in four people (26.9%, 2020 to 2024) has a disability, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 69.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Union 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.
Union County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (25.2, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (8.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.3% · 202481st percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.7% · 202483rd percentile
- People with a disability26.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance10.4% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,814 · 202491st percentile
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- 69.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202643rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working37.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 58.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.6% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.4% · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.5% · second quarter of 202671st percentile
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- 45.0 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 rent8.6% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.4% · fiscal year 202780th percentile
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- 26.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.3% · August 202546th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people25.2 · 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 Union 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 Union County, 22.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Union County
New Mexico
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Union County, benefit checks overtook pay in 2024, a bigger share of income than across New Mexico
In Union County, New Mexico, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 41.9%; 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 Union County getting SNAP food aid grew to about four times its 2009 level, reaching 20.2%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2021 to 2022, reaching 19.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Union County, New Mexico.
How Union County has changed
Union County's population fell by about a fifth to 3,926, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 1984 and 1989
High on the chart: 5,091 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Union County, New Mexico.
The number of jobs located in Union County had its largest drop, from 1,392 in 2015 to 1,204 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Union County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 1,392 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Union County, New Mexico.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.1% | 2024 18.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,293 | 2024 $49,814 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Union County's history
1893
Created by territorial legislation in 1893 and officially recognized January 1, 1894. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 16,680. The 2020 Census counted 4,079, 24% of the peak. Census Bureau
2023
Hail in May 2023 did $5,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Union County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Union County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Union County, in New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Union County ranks 2nd of the nine; Quay County is highest, at 45.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Las Animas County, CO | 90 | 19.8% | 41.3% |
| Colfax County, NM | 72 | 17.9% | 37.0% |
| Quay County, NM | 67 | 20.6% | 45.7% |
| Union County, NM | 60 | 18.3% | 41.9% |
| Baca County, CO | 52 | 18.2% | 35.6% |
| Harding County, NM | 47 | 14.4% | 33.4% |
| Cimarron County, OK | 40 | 17.2% | 20.3% |
| Dallam County, TX | 37 | 11.7% | 12.5% |
| Hartley County, TX | 22 | 9.2% | 3.8% |
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 Union County the poorest county in New Mexico?
No, Union County's poverty rate was 18.3% in 2024, 16th 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, Union County ranks 25th of 33 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Union 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 Union County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.