About one in four people in Cottle County, Texas, has a disability
In Cottle County, 25.2% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cottle County's score
In Cottle County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 85.0. About one in three children (36.1%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 77.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cottle 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.
Cottle County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.0% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line36.1% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability25.2% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance11.2% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,388 · 202477th percentile
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- 77.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202573rd 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 score52.9% · second quarter of 202686th percentile
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- 55.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202586th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202524th percentile
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- 51.0 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 rent15.5% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.5% · fiscal year 202767th percentile
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- 46.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.4% · 2020 to 202488th 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 Cottle 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 Cottle County, 23.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cottle County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Cottle County had its largest drop in the last span, from 27.5% in 2019 to 17.1% in 2024.
In Cottle County, pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Cottle County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 17.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cottle County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 23.8% in 2023 to 29.8% in 2024.
The share of households in Cottle County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2011, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 8.0% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cottle County, Texas.
How Cottle County has changed
Cottle County's population had its largest drop, from 2,794 in 1984 to 2,322 in 1989.
Cottle County's population fell by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 1,263, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1974 to 1979, reaching 2,919. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cottle County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Cottle County had its largest drop, from 1,524 in 1990 to 583 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Cottle County fell by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 811, with its low point on the chart in 2015
Low on the chart: 371 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cottle County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.2% | 2025 2.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.9% | 2024 19.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,278 | 2024 $57,388 |
The table uses 2.4% for 2025; the score uses 2.1% 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 Cottle County's history
1876
Founded in 1876 and later organized in 1892. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 9,395. The 2020 Census counted 1,380, 15% of the peak. Census Bureau
1954
A tornado in June 1954 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1990
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cottle County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cottle County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Cottle County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cottle County ranks 6th of the seven; Hall County is highest, at 40.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardeman County, TX | 83 | 18.1% | 35.7% |
| Motley County, TX | 76 | 19.4% | 36.3% |
| Cottle County, TX | 72 | 19.0% | 17.1% |
| Hall County, TX | 66 | 22.1% | 40.4% |
| Foard County, TX | 64 | 16.2% | 36.3% |
| Childress County, TX | 58 | 20.0% | 30.6% |
| King County, TX | 29 | 13.5% | 4.1% |
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 Cottle County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Cottle County's poverty rate was 19.0% in 2024, 47th 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, Cottle County ranks 100th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cottle 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 Cottle 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 Cottle County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.