About one in three people with a credit file in Camp County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Camp County, 31.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 78% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Camp County's score
In Camp County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 83.3. People with a car or retail loan behind: 8.7%, August 2025, higher than in 87% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 75.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Camp 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.
Camp County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.9%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (69.2, 2025).
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 behind7.4% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.7% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.0% · second quarter of 202684th percentile
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- 75.4 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 202677th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.8% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
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- 75.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.7% · 202468th percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.7% · 202481st percentile
- People with a disability18.3% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- People without health insurance19.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,333 · 202460th percentile
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- 48.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.9% · August 202578th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people69.2 · 202518th percentile
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- 24.2 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 rent10.9% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.2% · fiscal year 202733rd 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 Camp 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 Camp County, 18.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Camp County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Camp County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 29.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Camp County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Camp County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.2% in 2011 to 18.1% in 2012.
The share of households in Camp County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 16.6%
Low on the chart: 15.0% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Camp County, Texas.
How Camp County has changed
Camp County's population had its largest rise, from 8,075 in 1974 to 9,027 in 1979.
Camp County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 13,164, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 12,392. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Camp County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Camp County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 4,000, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 4,312 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Camp County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.7% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.6% | 2024 15.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,618 | 2024 $63,333 |
The table uses 4.5% 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 Camp County's history
1874
Founded in 1874. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 12,464, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A thunderstorm in June 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Camp County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Camp County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Camp County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Camp County ranks 3rd of the six; Morris County is highest, at 38.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morris County, TX | 87 | 19.0% | 38.3% |
| Wood County, TX | 78 | 13.7% | 36.4% |
| Titus County, TX | 77 | 15.0% | 23.8% |
| Upshur County, TX | 75 | 13.7% | 29.2% |
| Camp County, TX | 69 | 15.7% | 29.9% |
| Franklin County, TX | 37 | 13.4% | 23.8% |
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 Camp County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Camp County's poverty rate was 15.7% in 2024, 99th 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, Camp County ranks 111th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Camp 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 Camp County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.