In Brooks County, Texas, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2020
In 2024, 47 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 90% of U.S. counties.
What drives Brooks County's score
In Brooks County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 94.0. About three in ten people (30.6%, 2024) live below the poverty line, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 89.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Brooks 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.
Brooks County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (43.8, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line30.6% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line44.7% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability22.4% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- People without health insurance21.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$39,409 · 2024top 5%
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- 89.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.9% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score69.8% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 79.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202663rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working38.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 61.0 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 rent14.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income30.9% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
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- 51.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector53.2% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people43.8 · 20257th 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 Brooks 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 Brooks County, 21.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Brooks County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Brooks County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Texas
In Brooks County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 46.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Brooks County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (25.7% in 2009) to 31.6% in 2010.
The share of households in Brooks 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: 25.7% 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, Brooks County, Texas.
How Brooks County has changed
Brooks County's population had its largest rise, from 8,283 in 1979 to 8,797 in 1984.
Brooks County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 8,797 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Brooks County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Brooks County had its largest drop in the last span, from 2,643 in 2020 to 2,173 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Brooks County was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and is down 18% since
High on the chart: 2,643 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Brooks County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.9% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 40.3% | 2024 30.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,212 | 2024 $39,409 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Brooks County's history
1904
Falfurrias founded by Edward Cunningham Lasater, Rio Grande Valley rancher and developer. Wikipedia
1911
Brooks County was created in 1911. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 9,195. The 2020 Census counted 7,076, 77% of the peak. Census Bureau
2004
Hail in April 2004 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
Hail in April 2004 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
Hail in April 2004 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Brooks County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Brooks County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Brooks County, five score higher. Of the group, Brooks County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (46.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starr County, TX | 97 | 35.4% | 44.1% |
| Jim Wells County, TX | 95 | 22.8% | 36.3% |
| Kenedy County, TX | 94 | 15.5% | 18.3% |
| Duval County, TX | 92 | 24.8% | 45.8% |
| Hidalgo County, TX | 91 | 24.2% | 31.6% |
| Brooks County, TX | 90 | 30.6% | 46.9% |
| Kleberg County, TX | 89 | 21.4% | 28.0% |
| Jim Hogg County, TX | 87 | 22.1% | 39.7% |
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 Brooks County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Brooks County's poverty rate was 30.6% in 2024, 3rd 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, Brooks County ranks 17th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Brooks 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.
Download the CSV for Brooks 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 Brooks County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.