About one in nine people in Carson County, Texas, has a disability
In Carson County, 11.1% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Carson County's score
In Carson County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 63.3. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 7.4. About one in 15 renters (6.9%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Carson 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.
Even so, Carson County is worse off than most counties on people with a credit card behind (8.0%, August 2025) and people with unpaid debt sent to a collector (32.3%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 63.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.3% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people119.1 · 202546th percentile
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- 60.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.0% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.2% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.8% · second quarter of 202648th percentile
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- 28.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.5% · 202418th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.6% · 202420th percentile
- People with a disability11.1% · 2020 to 20248th percentile
- People without health insurance11.7% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$81,564 · 202418th percentile
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- 26.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202619th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.0% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
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- 7.4 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 rent6.9% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.3% · fiscal year 20278th 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 Carson 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 Carson County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Carson County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Carson County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 21.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Carson County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Carson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 3.2% in 2014 to 5.1% in 2015.
The share of households in Carson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 1.4% 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, Carson County, Texas.
How Carson County has changed
Carson County's population had its largest rise, from 5,994 in 1974 to 6,690 in 1979.
Carson County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 7,285 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Carson County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Carson County doubled to 7,046, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 7,046. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Carson County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.2% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 7.6% | 2024 9.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,127 | 2024 $81,564 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Carson County's history
1876
Founded in 1876 and later organized in 1888. Wikipedia
1920
Natural gas field. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 7,781. The 2020 Census counted 5,807, 75% of the peak. Census Bureau
1992
A tornado in June 1992 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1992
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Carson County. FEMA
Carson County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Carson County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Carson County ranks 5th of the seven; Armstrong County is highest, at 27.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potter County, TX | 86 | 22.5% | 23.0% |
| Hutchinson County, TX | 69 | 14.4% | 26.2% |
| Gray County, TX | 57 | 15.4% | 24.2% |
| Moore County, TX | 49 | 13.7% | 13.6% |
| Roberts County, TX | 33 | 8.6% | 15.8% |
| Carson County, TX | 28 | 9.5% | 21.9% |
| Armstrong County, TX | 10 | 10.1% | 27.0% |
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 Carson County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Carson County's poverty rate was 9.5% in 2024, 227th 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, Carson County ranks 238th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Carson 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.
Download the CSV for Carson 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 Carson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.