About one in four people in Aransas County, Texas, has a disability
In Aransas County, 23.0% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Aransas County's score
In Aransas County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 76.5. Unemployment averaged 4.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 78% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 73.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Aransas 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.
Aransas County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (78.8, 2025) and people with a car or retail loan behind (4.9%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.5 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.1% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
-
- 73.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.3% · 202459th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.1% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability23.0% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- People without health insurance12.8% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,768 · 202446th percentile
-
- 72.9 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 rent20.2% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.9% · fiscal year 202782nd percentile
-
- 58.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.8% · August 202556th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.9% · August 202545th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.7% · second quarter of 202673rd percentile
-
- 52.4 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 people78.8 · 202525th percentile
-
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 Aransas 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 Aransas County, 28.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Aransas County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Aransas County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 27.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Aransas County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.2%; 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 Aransas County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 8.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Aransas County, Texas.
How Aransas County has changed
Aransas County's population tripled to 25,595, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 17,259. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Aransas County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Aransas County fell most sharply after its 2015 high, from 6,352 in 2015 to 5,412 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Aransas County nearly doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 6,201
High on the chart: 6,352 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Aransas County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.5% | 2024 14.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,086 | 2024 $67,768 |
The table uses 4.8% 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 Aransas County's history
1871
Established by the Texas Legislature in 1871 from portions of Refugio County and organized the following year. Wikipedia
2006
A flash flood in July 2006 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
Hurricane Harvey caused catastrophic damage to Rockport. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 23,830, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1967
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Aransas County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Aransas County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Aransas County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Aransas County ranks 2nd of the five; Refugio County is highest, at 32.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refugio County, TX | 84 | 15.2% | 32.1% |
| Nueces County, TX | 84 | 15.3% | 24.0% |
| San Patricio County, TX | 82 | 14.3% | 26.6% |
| Aransas County, TX | 78 | 14.3% | 27.2% |
| Calhoun County, TX | 44 | 14.5% | 26.8% |
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 Aransas County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Aransas County's poverty rate was 14.3% in 2024, 141st highest of 254 in Texas (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Starr County, at 35.4%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Aransas County ranks 77th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Aransas 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.
-
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
Legal aid
-
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 Aransas 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 Aransas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.