About one in five people in Brazos County, Texas, lives below the poverty line
In Brazos County, 22.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Brazos County's score
In Brazos County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 82.2. About one in three renters (33.9%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a higher share than in 99% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 58.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Brazos 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.
Brazos County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (10.3%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (49, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.2 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 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 income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th percentile
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- 58.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.1% · 202492nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.5% · 202451st percentile
- People with a disability10.3% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- People without health insurance12.2% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,938 · 202464th percentile
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- 57.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.4% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.6% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.6% · second quarter of 202644th percentile
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- 34.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.7% · August 202559th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people49 · 20259th percentile
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- 32.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202635th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.3% · 2020 to 202428th 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 Brazos 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 Brazos County, 10.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Brazos County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Brazos County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 14.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Brazos County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 14.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Brazos County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (6.8% in 2009) to 8.2% in 2010.
The share of households in Brazos County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 6.8% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Brazos County, Texas.
How Brazos County has changed
Brazos County's population had its largest rise, from 90,564 in 1979 to 118,965 in 1984.
Brazos County's population grew to about five times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 249,624, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 121,125. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Brazos County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Brazos County had its largest rise in the last span, from 103,777 in 2020 to 126,296 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Brazos County more than doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 126,296, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 86,474. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Brazos County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.0% | 2024 22.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,792 | 2024 $61,938 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Brazos County's history
1999
Hail in January 1999 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A tornado in December 2006 did $2.75 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A tornado in May 2016 did $7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 233,849, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
Lightning in June 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1991
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Brazos County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Brazos County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Brazos County, three score higher. Of the group, Brazos County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Madison County gets the largest, at 29.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robertson County, TX | 78 | 15.7% | 26.4% |
| Grimes County, TX | 70 | 15.0% | 27.5% |
| Madison County, TX | 64 | 15.8% | 29.4% |
| Brazos County, TX | 55 | 22.1% | 14.9% |
| Burleson County, TX | 46 | 13.7% | 24.3% |
| Washington County, TX | 39 | 12.4% | 22.8% |
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 Brazos County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Brazos County's poverty rate was 22.1% in 2024, 20th 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, Brazos County ranks 163rd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Brazos 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 Brazos 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 Brazos County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.