About one in four people in Delta County, Texas, has a disability
In Delta County, 25.5% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Delta County's score
In Delta County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 72.7. About two in five people with a credit file (40.7%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 70.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Delta 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.
Delta County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (7.5%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (15.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector40.7% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people126.8 · 202550th percentile
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- 70.9 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 line23.3% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability25.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance9.5% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,985 · 202457th percentile
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- 64.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit 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 behind3.7% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.5% · second quarter of 202683rd percentile
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- 43.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202665th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.9% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
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- 19.6 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 rent7.5% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.0% · fiscal year 202732nd 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 Delta 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 Delta County, 20.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Delta County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Delta County had its largest rise, from 27.0% in 2004 to 33.9% in 2009.
In Delta County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by about half since 1969, reaching 31.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Delta County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Delta County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 8.0% in 2023 to 11.0% in 2024.
The share of households in Delta County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 11.0%
Low on the chart: 7.2% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Delta County, Texas.
How Delta County has changed
Delta County's population rose 12% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2019 and 2024
High on the chart: 5,647 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Delta County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Delta County had its largest drop, from 1,416 in 2000 to 978 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Delta County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 1,416 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Delta County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.9% | 2024 14.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,295 | 2024 $63,985 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Delta County's history
1870
Founded in 1870. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 15,887. The 2020 Census counted 5,230, 33% of the peak. Census Bureau
1926
In 1926, the cotton crop failed. Wikipedia
1927
The bank was forced to close in 1927. Wikipedia
1954
A tornado in June 1954 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1957
A tornado in April 1957 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Delta County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Delta County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Delta County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Delta County ranks 3rd of the seven; Red River County is highest, at 39.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red River County, TX | 86 | 15.0% | 39.3% |
| Lamar County, TX | 82 | 17.2% | 31.3% |
| Hunt County, TX | 78 | 11.1% | 22.7% |
| Fannin County, TX | 66 | 12.8% | 28.9% |
| Hopkins County, TX | 59 | 13.4% | 24.0% |
| Delta County, TX | 56 | 14.6% | 31.3% |
| Franklin County, TX | 37 | 13.4% | 23.8% |
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 Delta County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Delta 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, Delta County ranks 159th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Delta 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.
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 Delta County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.