About two in five people with a credit file in Atascosa County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Atascosa County, 39.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Atascosa County's score
In Atascosa County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 85.6. People with a car or retail loan behind: 9.6%, August 2025, higher than in 91% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 75.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Atascosa 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.
Atascosa County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (88.8, 2025) and people with a disability (14.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.6% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.8% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
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- 75.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202671st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.6% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
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- 65.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.9% · 202470th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.7% · 202478th percentile
- People with a disability14.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- People without health insurance19.5% · 2020 to 202496th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,244 · 202451st percentile
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- 62.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.6% · August 202593rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people88.8 · 202530th percentile
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- 57.7 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 rent23.5% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.4% · fiscal year 202735th 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 Atascosa 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 Atascosa County, 15.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Atascosa County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Atascosa County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Atascosa County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Atascosa County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 16.4% in 2019 to 13.6% in 2020.
The share of households in Atascosa County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 16.2%
Low on the chart: 13.6% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Atascosa County, Texas.
How Atascosa County has changed
Atascosa County's population had its largest rise, from 32,850 in 1994 to 37,736 in 1999.
Atascosa County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 52,783, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 46,598. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Atascosa County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Atascosa County more than doubled to 14,535, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 12,812. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Atascosa County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.8% | 2024 15.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,569 | 2024 $66,244 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Atascosa County's history
1856
Established in 1856 from portions of Bexar County. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 48,981, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Atascosa County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Atascosa County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Atascosa County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Atascosa County ranks 2nd of the nine; Frio County is highest, at 28.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frio County, TX | 84 | 27.0% | 28.6% |
| Atascosa County, TX | 82 | 15.9% | 25.7% |
| Live Oak County, TX | 80 | 18.0% | 24.2% |
| Bexar County, TX | 79 | 14.6% | 18.4% |
| La Salle County, TX | 76 | 27.3% | 23.8% |
| Karnes County, TX | 73 | 19.4% | 16.2% |
| McMullen County, TX | 64 | 10.9% | 15.6% |
| Medina County, TX | 54 | 11.2% | 25.1% |
| Wilson County, TX | 42 | 9.3% | 21.3% |
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 Atascosa County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Atascosa County's poverty rate was 15.9% in 2024, 93rd 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, Atascosa County ranks 53rd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Atascosa 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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Texas RioGrande 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 Atascosa 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 Atascosa County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.