About three in ten people with a credit file in Austin County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Austin County, 30.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 73% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Austin County's score
In Austin County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 67.3. People with a car or retail loan behind: 7.2%, August 2025, higher than in 76% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 55.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Austin 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.
Austin County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.3%, fiscal year 2027) and people with a disability (12.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 67.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.8% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.0% · second quarter of 202656th percentile
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- 55.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202654th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
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- 52.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.1% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people88.4 · 202530th percentile
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- 44.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.1% · 202431st percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.4% · 202446th percentile
- People with a disability12.8% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- People without health insurance16.7% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$74,343 · 202430th percentile
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- 43.8 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 rent21.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.3% · fiscal year 202715th 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 Austin 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 Austin County, 21.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Austin County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Austin County had its largest rise, from 16.2% in 2014 to 18.8% in 2019.
In Austin County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 21.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Austin County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Austin County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.7% in 2011 to 8.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Austin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 9.2%
Low on the chart: 5.4% 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, Austin County, Texas.
How Austin County has changed
Austin County's population more than doubled to 32,546, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 20,588. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Austin County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Austin County more than doubled to 13,541, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 13,541. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Austin County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.7% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.0% | 2024 11.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,778 | 2024 $74,343 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Austin County's history
1836
Established 1836 by the Texas Legislature. Wikipedia
1983
A tornado in January 1983 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in January 2007 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A thunderstorm in April 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in April 2016 did $2.3 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 30,167, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1991
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Austin County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Austin County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Austin County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Austin County ranks 5th of the seven; Wharton County is highest, at 27.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waller County, TX | 68 | 13.6% | 17.3% |
| Wharton County, TX | 64 | 14.6% | 27.0% |
| Austin County, TX | 54 | 11.1% | 21.3% |
| Colorado County, TX | 50 | 13.4% | 27.0% |
| Washington County, TX | 39 | 12.4% | 22.8% |
| Fort Bend County, TX | 38 | 7.7% | 11.1% |
| Fayette County, TX | 32 | 10.2% | 23.0% |
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 Austin County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Austin County's poverty rate was 11.1% in 2024, 205th 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, Austin County ranks 168th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Austin 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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Lone Star 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 Austin 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 Austin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.