About half people with a credit file in Bee County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Bee County, 47.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bee County's score
In Bee County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 94.1. About three in five people (61.1%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 97% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 93.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bee 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.
Bee County does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (12.7%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (48.6, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.2% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.3% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score61.1% · second quarter of 202697th percentile
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- 93.9 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 rent33.9% · 2020 to 202499th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.2% · fiscal year 202788th percentile
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- 81.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line24.2% · 202495th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.2% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance18.8% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,414 · 202479th percentile
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- 54.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector47.3% · August 202599th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people48.6 · 20258th percentile
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- 42.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202677th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.7% · 2020 to 20247th 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 Bee 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 Bee County, 12.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bee County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bee County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, but pay from work still brings in 39% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Bee County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 32.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bee County getting SNAP food aid fell most in two steps: 16.4% in 2009 to 14.1% in 2010; 17.8% in 2022 to 15.5% in 2023.
The share of households in Bee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2022 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 15.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bee County, Texas.
How Bee County has changed
Bee County's population rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31,226, with most of the change between 1994 and 1999
High on the chart: 32,352 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bee County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Bee County rose most sharply from its first year (7,069 in 1990) to 8,389 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Bee County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 9,269 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bee County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.1% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.6% | 2024 24.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,477 | 2024 $56,414 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Bee County's history
1857
Formed December 8, 1857 from sections of Refugio, Live Oak, San Patricio, Goliad, and Karnes Counties. Wikipedia
1967
Hurricane Beulah inundated town with 30 inches of rain in 1967. Wikipedia
1994
A thunderstorm in April 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 32,359. The 2020 Census counted 31,047, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2017
A thunderstorm in May 2017 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in April 2019 did $1.25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bee County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bee County beside its neighbors
Bee County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Bee County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (32.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bee County, TX | 88 | 24.2% | 32.7% |
| Refugio County, TX | 84 | 15.2% | 32.1% |
| San Patricio County, TX | 82 | 14.3% | 26.6% |
| Live Oak County, TX | 80 | 18.0% | 24.2% |
| Karnes County, TX | 73 | 19.4% | 16.2% |
| Goliad County, TX | 63 | 15.4% | 25.2% |
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 Bee County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Bee County's poverty rate was 24.2% in 2024, 11th 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, Bee County ranks 24th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bee 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.
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 Bee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.