About two in five people with a credit file in Coryell County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Coryell County, 37.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Coryell County's score
In Coryell County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 83.0. People with a car or retail loan behind: 8.5%, August 2025, higher than in 86% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 81.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Coryell 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.
Coryell County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.4%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (106, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.9% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.5% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.7% · second quarter of 202679th percentile
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- 81.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202680th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.5% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 64.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.4% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people106 · 202539th percentile
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- 64.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.6% · 202461st percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.0% · 202454th percentile
- People with a disability19.4% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance10.6% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,049 · 202457th percentile
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- 40.6 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 rent13.4% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.3% · fiscal year 202756th 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 Coryell 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 Coryell County, 11.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Coryell County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Coryell County had its largest rise, from 20.9% in 2014 to 25.0% in 2019.
In Coryell County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 28.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Coryell County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 28.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Coryell County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 9.2% in 2014 to 10.9% in 2015; 11.0% in 2023 to 12.7% in 2024.
The share of households in Coryell County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 7.4% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Coryell County, Texas.
How Coryell County has changed
Coryell County's population more than doubled to 86,370, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 52,401. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Coryell County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Coryell County had its largest rise, from 12,431 in 2000 to 14,248 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Coryell County rose by more than half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 15,171
High on the chart: 15,407 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Coryell County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.3% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.9% | 2024 14.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,710 | 2024 $64,049 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Coryell County's history
1854
Created in 1854. Wikipedia
2007
A flash flood in May 2007 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flood in July 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flood in May 2015 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in June 2016 killed nine people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 83,093, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1989
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Coryell County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Coryell County beside its neighbors
Coryell County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Coryell County ranks 3rd of the six; Lampasas County is highest, at 29.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell County, TX | 78 | 13.8% | 24.0% |
| Coryell County, TX | 78 | 14.6% | 28.2% |
| McLennan County, TX | 73 | 16.2% | 21.9% |
| Bosque County, TX | 63 | 14.5% | 28.5% |
| Hamilton County, TX | 57 | 13.7% | 24.2% |
| Lampasas County, TX | 52 | 11.1% | 29.1% |
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 Coryell County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Coryell County's poverty rate was 14.6% in 2024, 129th 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, Coryell County ranks 76th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Coryell 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 Coryell 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 Coryell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.