About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Cherokee County, Texas, are not working
In Cherokee County, 30.0% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cherokee County's score
In Cherokee County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 78.9. About half of people (52.7%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 85% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 78.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cherokee 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.
Cherokee County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (13.3%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (78.5, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit 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 behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.7% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
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- 78.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202667th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.0% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
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- 66.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.0% · 202470th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.4% · 202466th percentile
- People with a disability13.3% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- People without health insurance19.9% · 2020 to 202496th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,341 · 202472nd percentile
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- 56.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.6% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people78.5 · 202524th percentile
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- 42.9 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 rent14.1% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.5% · fiscal year 202758th 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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee County, 18.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cherokee County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cherokee County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 31.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Cherokee County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cherokee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.8% in 2012 to 17.8% in 2013.
The share of households in Cherokee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 14.7%
Low on the chart: 12.3% 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, Cherokee County, Texas.
How Cherokee County has changed
Cherokee County's population nearly doubled to 53,223, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 46,343. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cherokee County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Cherokee County rose most sharply from its first year (13,989 in 1990) to 15,431 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Cherokee County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 16,696 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cherokee County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.4% | 2024 16.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,417 | 2024 $59,341 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Cherokee County's history
1839
Cherokee expelled. Wikipedia
1846
Founded on July 13, 1846. Wikipedia
1987
A tornado in November 1987 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 50,845. The 2020 Census counted 50,412, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2019
A tornado in April 2019 did $10 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1987
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cherokee County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cherokee County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Cherokee County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cherokee County ranks 2nd of the eight; Houston County is highest, at 32.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nacogdoches County, TX | 90 | 21.9% | 26.7% |
| Henderson County, TX | 90 | 15.9% | 30.4% |
| Anderson County, TX | 86 | 20.0% | 28.2% |
| Houston County, TX | 86 | 19.3% | 32.4% |
| Angelina County, TX | 83 | 12.7% | 29.1% |
| Cherokee County, TX | 74 | 16.0% | 31.7% |
| Rusk County, TX | 73 | 14.1% | 27.3% |
| Smith County, TX | 63 | 12.1% | 18.8% |
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 Cherokee County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Cherokee County's poverty rate was 16.0% in 2024, 91st 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, Cherokee County ranks 90th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cherokee 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.
Download the CSV for Cherokee 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 Cherokee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.