About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Collingsworth County, Texas, have a job
In Collingsworth County, 16.4% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 76% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 50% of U.S. counties.
What drives Collingsworth County's score
In Collingsworth County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 77.1. Jobs are the lowest part, at 24.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Collingsworth 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, Collingsworth County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (22.1%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a credit card behind (9.8%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.8% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.8% · second quarter of 202663rd percentile
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- 74.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.6% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.2% · 202482nd percentile
- People with a disability14.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- People without health insurance22.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,421 · 202481st percentile
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- 39.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.2% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people39 · 20255th percentile
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- 33.8 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 rent3.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.0% · fiscal year 202762nd percentile
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- 24.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202625th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.4% · 2020 to 202423rd 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 Collingsworth 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 Collingsworth County, 24.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Collingsworth County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Collingsworth County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Collingsworth County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Collingsworth County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.4% in 2015 to 18.2% in 2016.
The share of households in Collingsworth County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 9.8% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Collingsworth County, Texas.
How Collingsworth County has changed
Collingsworth County's population fell by about half to 2,611, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 3,644. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Collingsworth County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Collingsworth County had its largest rise, from 874 in 2000 to 991 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Collingsworth County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 991 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Collingsworth County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.5% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.6% | 2024 16.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,637 | 2024 $55,421 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Collingsworth County's history
1876
Created in 1876 and later organized in 1890. Wikipedia
1883
Rocking Chair Ranche. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 14,461. The 2020 Census counted 2,652, 18% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1968
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Collingsworth County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Collingsworth County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Collingsworth County, in Texas and Oklahoma, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Collingsworth County ranks 4th of the seven; Hall County is highest, at 40.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harmon County, OK | 77 | 24.5% | 28.7% |
| Beckham County, OK | 74 | 20.2% | 29.2% |
| Donley County, TX | 68 | 17.2% | 33.5% |
| Hall County, TX | 66 | 22.1% | 40.4% |
| Childress County, TX | 58 | 20.0% | 30.6% |
| Collingsworth County, TX | 49 | 16.6% | 32.1% |
| Wheeler County, TX | 47 | 13.5% | 34.4% |
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 Collingsworth County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Collingsworth County's poverty rate was 16.6% in 2024, 81st 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, Collingsworth County ranks 182nd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Collingsworth 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 Collingsworth 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 Collingsworth County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.