About one in five people in Colorado County, Texas, has a disability
In Colorado County, 19.4% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 76% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 50% of U.S. counties.
What drives Colorado County's score
In Colorado County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 65.3. About one in eight people (12.6%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a higher share than in 81% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 60.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Colorado 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.
Colorado County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (52.1, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 65.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.4% · 202451st percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.7% · 202467th percentile
- People with a disability19.4% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance12.6% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,938 · 202449th percentile
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- 60.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.3% · August 202547th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.6% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.5% · second quarter of 202665th percentile
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- 48.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202642nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
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- 42.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.4% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people52.1 · 202510th percentile
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- 36.4 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 rent10.1% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.7% · fiscal year 202760th 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 Colorado 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 Colorado County, 23.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Colorado County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Colorado County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Colorado County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Colorado County getting SNAP food aid fell most from 11.0% in 2015 to 6.4% in 2017, 2.3 points each year.
The share of households in Colorado County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 6.2% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Colorado County, Texas.
How Colorado County has changed
Colorado County's population rose by about a fifth to 21,475, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1979 and 1984
High on the chart: 21,475 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Colorado County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Colorado County rose by about a third to 7,493, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 7,049. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Colorado County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.7% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.7% | 2024 13.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,760 | 2024 $66,938 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Colorado County's history
1865
Freedmen's Bureau office in Columbus. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 22,203. The 2020 Census counted 20,557, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
1991
A tornado in January 1991 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in April 2016 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1993
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Colorado County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Colorado County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Colorado County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Colorado County ranks 2nd of the six; Wharton County is highest, at 27.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson County, TX | 65 | 14.3% | 26.6% |
| Wharton County, TX | 64 | 14.6% | 27.0% |
| Austin County, TX | 54 | 11.1% | 21.3% |
| Colorado County, TX | 50 | 13.4% | 27.0% |
| Fayette County, TX | 32 | 10.2% | 23.0% |
| Lavaca County, TX | 19 | 12.4% | 25.6% |
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 Colorado County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Colorado County's poverty rate was 13.4% in 2024, 165th 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, Colorado County ranks 177th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Colorado 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 Colorado 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 Colorado County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.