About two in five people with a credit file in Childress County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Childress County, 42.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Childress County's score
In Childress County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 72.6. About one in five people (20.0%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a higher share than in 87% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 70.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Childress 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.
Childress County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (29.5, 2025) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.0% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.8% · 202478th percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance14.2% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,509 · 202476th percentile
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- 70.6 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 rent20.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.5% · fiscal year 202774th percentile
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- 51.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.9% · August 202523rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.8% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.2% · second quarter of 202688th percentile
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- 50.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector42.4% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people29.5 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 32.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20266th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.1% · 2020 to 202458th 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 Childress 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 Childress County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Childress County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Childress County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 30.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Childress County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Childress County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.2% in 2018 to 7.7% in 2019.
The share of households in Childress County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 3.9% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Childress County, Texas.
How Childress County has changed
Childress County's population had its largest rise, from 6,384 in 1994 to 7,667 in 1999.
Childress County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 7,667 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Childress County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Childress County doubled to 3,019, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 2,380. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Childress County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.9% | 2025 2.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.2% | 2024 20.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,705 | 2024 $57,509 |
The table uses 2.5% for 2025; the score uses 2.7% 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 Childress County's history
1876
Created in 1876 and later organized in 1887. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 16,044. The 2020 Census counted 6,664, 42% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
Hail in May 1996 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A tornado in May 2006 did $5.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A thunderstorm in June 2008 did $16 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A thunderstorm in July 2009 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1996
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Childress County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Childress County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Childress County, in Texas and Oklahoma, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Childress County ranks 4th of the six; Hall County is highest, at 40.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardeman County, TX | 83 | 18.1% | 35.7% |
| Harmon County, OK | 77 | 24.5% | 28.7% |
| Cottle County, TX | 72 | 19.0% | 17.1% |
| Hall County, TX | 66 | 22.1% | 40.4% |
| Childress County, TX | 58 | 20.0% | 30.6% |
| Collingsworth County, TX | 49 | 16.6% | 32.1% |
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 Childress County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Childress County's poverty rate was 20.0% in 2024, 36th 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, Childress County ranks 153rd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Childress 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 Childress 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 Childress County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.