About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Cass County, Texas, are not working
In Cass County, 30.6% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cass County's score
In Cass County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 86.8. Income and the safety net comes next, at 78.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cass 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.
Cass County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (111.7, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202682nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.6% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
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- 78.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.5% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.5% · 202470th percentile
- People with a disability19.5% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- People without health insurance13.5% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,449 · 202487th percentile
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- 68.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.5% · second quarter of 202681st percentile
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- 66.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.7% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people111.7 · 202541st percentile
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- 58.4 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 rent17.1% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.2% · fiscal year 202772nd 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 Cass 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 Cass County, 22.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cass County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cass County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 38.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Cass County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cass County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.5% in 2011 to 17.1% in 2012.
The share of households in Cass County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 16.6%
Low on the chart: 13.4% 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, Cass County, Texas.
How Cass County has changed
Cass County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28,622, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 30,416 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cass County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Cass County rose most sharply from its first year (7,134 in 1990) to 8,251 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Cass County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 8,835 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cass County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.6% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.5% | 2024 16.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,154 | 2024 $52,449 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 5.1% 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 Cass County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 33,496. The 2020 Census counted 28,454, 85% of the peak. Census Bureau
2022
A tornado in November 2022 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A tornado in June 2023 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cass County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cass County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Cass County, in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cass County ranks 3rd of the six; Marion County is highest, at 41.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caddo Parish, LA | 98 | 22.1% | 25.8% |
| Miller County, AR | 97 | 21.3% | 31.1% |
| Marion County, TX | 92 | 21.0% | 41.2% |
| Morris County, TX | 87 | 19.0% | 38.3% |
| Cass County, TX | 86 | 16.5% | 38.3% |
| Bowie County, TX | 82 | 16.2% | 28.1% |
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 Cass County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Cass County's poverty rate was 16.5% in 2024, 82nd 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, Cass County ranks 35th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cass 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 Cass County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.