About two in five people with a credit file in Bowie County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Bowie County, 38.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bowie County's score
In Bowie County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 83.3. About half of people (52.1%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 84% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 77.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bowie 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.
Bowie County does better than most counties on one measure: people with a disability (14.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.3 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 behind7.8% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.1% · second quarter of 202684th percentile
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- 77.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector38.3% · August 202591st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people157.1 · 202562nd percentile
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- 66.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.2% · 202471st percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.7% · 202474th percentile
- People with a disability14.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- People without health insurance13.4% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,559 · 202462nd percentile
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- 60.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202661st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.4% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
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- 57.2 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 rent19.2% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.5% · fiscal year 202758th 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 Bowie 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 Bowie County, 17.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bowie County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Bowie County rose most in two steps: 13.9% in 1989 to 18.2% in 1994; 18.7% in 2004 to 23.0% in 2009.
In Bowie County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 28.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Bowie County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bowie County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 12.9% in 2023 to 14.6% in 2024.
The share of households in Bowie County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 14.6%
Low on the chart: 10.6% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bowie County, Texas.
How Bowie County has changed
Bowie County's population had its largest rise, from 69,081 in 1974 to 74,740 in 1979.
Bowie County's population rose 41% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 93,048 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bowie County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Bowie County rose by about a quarter to 42,360, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 38,338. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bowie County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.6% | 2024 16.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,684 | 2024 $62,559 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Bowie County's history
1950
A tornado in February 1950 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1971
A tornado in March 1971 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A tornado in May 1999 did $125 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
Hail in March 2008 did $120 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 92,893, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bowie County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bowie County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Bowie County, in Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma, five score higher. Of the group, Bowie County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Red River County gets the largest, at 39.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miller County, AR | 97 | 21.3% | 31.1% |
| Morris County, TX | 87 | 19.0% | 38.3% |
| Red River County, TX | 86 | 15.0% | 39.3% |
| Cass County, TX | 86 | 16.5% | 38.3% |
| McCurtain County, OK | 85 | 21.2% | 35.1% |
| Bowie County, TX | 82 | 16.2% | 28.1% |
| Little River County, AR | 76 | 16.3% | 34.7% |
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 Bowie County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Bowie County's poverty rate was 16.2% in 2024, 85th 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, Bowie County ranks 58th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bowie 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 Bowie County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.