About one in four people in Brown County, Texas, has a disability
In Brown County, 22.8% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Brown County's score
In Brown County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 88.0. People with a credit card behind: 10.0%, August 2025, higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 81.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Brown 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.
Brown County does better than most counties on one measure: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (67.2, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.0% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.0% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.9% · second quarter of 202686th percentile
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- 81.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.7% · 202474th percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.5% · 202481st percentile
- People with a disability22.8% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- People without health insurance15.5% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,291 · 202469th percentile
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- 79.5 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 rent26.5% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.6% · fiscal year 202768th percentile
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- 56.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202651st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.4% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
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- 54.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.6% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people67.2 · 202518th 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 Brown 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 Brown County, 21.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Brown County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Brown County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 33.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Brown County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Brown County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.5% in 2012 to 14.2% in 2013.
The share of households in Brown County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 10.5% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Brown County, Texas.
How Brown County has changed
Brown County's population rose by about half to 38,631, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 29,120. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Brown County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Brown County had its largest rise, from 11,812 in 1990 to 13,568 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Brown County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 15,574
High on the chart: 15,642 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Brown County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.1% | 2024 16.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,373 | 2024 $60,291 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Brown County's history
1879
Oil discovered 1879 on H. M. Barnes farm near Grosvenor. Wikipedia
1909
Boll weevil arrived 1909, destroyed cotton economy. Wikipedia
1940
Camp Bowie opened 1940, first German POWs arrived 1943. Wikipedia
1997
A flash flood in June 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A thunderstorm in February 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A flash flood in July 2002 did $42 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 38,106. The 2020 Census counted 38,095, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
2019
A flood in May 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1989
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Brown County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Brown County beside its neighbors
Brown County scores higher than all seven counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Brown County ranks 6th of the eight; McCulloch County is highest, at 38.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown County, TX | 86 | 16.7% | 33.5% |
| McCulloch County, TX | 80 | 18.2% | 38.8% |
| Eastland County, TX | 78 | 18.5% | 34.8% |
| Coleman County, TX | 73 | 18.8% | 35.8% |
| Callahan County, TX | 54 | 11.5% | 27.8% |
| Comanche County, TX | 48 | 14.5% | 28.7% |
| San Saba County, TX | 47 | 15.0% | 34.3% |
| Mills County, TX | 32 | 13.6% | 34.9% |
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 Brown County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Brown County's poverty rate was 16.7% in 2024, 78th 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, Brown County ranks 34th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Brown 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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Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas
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 Brown County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.