About one in 12 people in Collin County, Texas, has a disability
In Collin County, 8.1% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Collin County's score
In Collin County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 51.6. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 13.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Collin 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.
Collin County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 51.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.0% · August 202538th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people165.4 · 202565th percentile
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- 43.0 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 rent21.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.4% · fiscal year 202716th percentile
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- 41.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202654th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.4% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
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- 29.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.8% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.4% · second quarter of 202611th percentile
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- 13.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line5.7% · 20241st percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.1% · 20242nd percentile
- People with a disability8.1% · 2020 to 20240th percentile
- People without health insurance9.5% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$124,920 · 20241st 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 Collin 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 Collin County, 11.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Collin County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Collin County had its largest rise, from 4.6% in 2004 to 7.2% in 2009.
In Collin County, pay from work still brings in about nine times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Collin County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 8.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Collin County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 2.4% in 2010 to 3.4% in 2012, 0.5 points each year.
The share of households in Collin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 2.0% 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, Collin County, Texas.
How Collin County has changed
Collin County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 1,035,942 in 2019 to 1,254,658 in 2024.
Collin County's population grew to more than ten times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 1,254,658, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 94,802. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Collin County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Collin County had its largest rise in the last span, from 426,713 in 2020 to 562,572 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Collin County grew to about seven times its 1990 size in 2025, reaching 562,572, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 113,668. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Collin County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.8% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 5.6% | 2024 5.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $47,992 | 2024 $124,920 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Collin County's history
1846
Founded in 1846. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 1,064,465, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
Hail in May 2023 did $400 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
Hail in May 2023 did $200 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
Hail in May 2023 did $200 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
Hail in May 2023 did $200 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Collin County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Collin County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Collin County score higher than it does. Of the group, Collin County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Fannin County gets the largest, at 28.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas County, TX | 79 | 12.5% | 11.1% |
| Hunt County, TX | 78 | 11.1% | 22.7% |
| Grayson County, TX | 70 | 11.0% | 24.4% |
| Fannin County, TX | 66 | 12.8% | 28.9% |
| Denton County, TX | 31 | 6.2% | 9.5% |
| Rockwall County, TX | 31 | 5.5% | 11.2% |
| Collin County, TX | 25 | 5.7% | 8.2% |
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 Collin County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Collin County's poverty rate was 5.7% in 2024, 252nd 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, Collin County ranks 243rd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Collin 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 Collin 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 Collin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.