About one in three people with a credit file in Bell County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Bell County, 36.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bell County's score
In Bell County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 80.3. People with a credit card behind: 7.9%, August 2025, higher than in 83% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 70.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bell 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.
Bell County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.8%, fiscal year 2027) and people with a disability (15.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.9% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.8% · second quarter of 202676th percentile
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- 70.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.3% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people133 · 202552nd percentile
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- 69.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment 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 working22.4% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
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- 57.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.8% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.9% · 202459th percentile
- People with a disability15.2% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- People without health insurance14.0% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,108 · 202443rd percentile
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- 56.9 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 rent22.3% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.8% · fiscal year 202739th 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 Bell 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 Bell County, 11.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bell County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Bell County had its largest rise, from 14.3% in 2009 to 18.7% in 2014.
In Bell County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 24.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Bell County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 24.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bell County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.3% in 2012 to 10.8% in 2013.
The share of households in Bell County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2024, reaching 13.0%
High on the chart: 14.0% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bell County, Texas.
How Bell County has changed
Bell County's population had its largest rise, from 258,138 in 2004 to 301,050 in 2009.
Bell County's population more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 399,578, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 162,480. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bell County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Bell County had its largest rise, from 64,095 in 1990 to 78,195 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Bell County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 130,527, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 118,586. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bell County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.2% | 2024 13.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,251 | 2024 $69,108 |
The table uses 4.6% 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 Bell County's history
1834
Robertson's Colony settlers from Nashville Tennessee arrived 1834-1835, called Tennessee Valley. Wikipedia
1942
Fort Hood opened 1942 as military training base. Wikipedia
1976
A tornado in May 1976 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
Hail in April 1996 did $0.2 billion in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A flash flood in December 1997 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in May 2007 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 370,647, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bell County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bell County beside its neighbors
Bell County scores higher than all seven counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bell County ranks 5th of the eight; Falls County is highest, at 31.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell County, TX | 78 | 13.8% | 24.0% |
| Coryell County, TX | 78 | 14.6% | 28.2% |
| McLennan County, TX | 73 | 16.2% | 21.9% |
| Falls County, TX | 66 | 18.7% | 31.5% |
| Milam County, TX | 61 | 13.8% | 30.8% |
| Lampasas County, TX | 52 | 11.1% | 29.1% |
| Burnet County, TX | 30 | 9.2% | 19.9% |
| Williamson County, TX | 23 | 5.4% | 10.7% |
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 Bell County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Bell County's poverty rate was 13.8% in 2024, 151st 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, Bell County ranks 74th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bell 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.
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 Bell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.