About one in three people with a credit file in DeWitt County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In DeWitt County, 33.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives DeWitt County's score
In DeWitt County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 81.2. People with a credit card behind: 8.0%, August 2025, higher than in 84% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 70.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in DeWitt 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.
DeWitt County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (50.2, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.0% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.0% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.4% · second quarter of 202675th percentile
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- 70.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.5% · 202481st percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.2% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability15.2% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- People without health insurance17.0% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,383 · 202459th percentile
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- 67.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202679th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
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- 53.9 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 rent16.1% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202770th percentile
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- 46.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.5% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people50.2 · 20259th 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 DeWitt 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 DeWitt County, 20.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
DeWitt County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in DeWitt County had its largest drop, from 29.5% in 2009 to 16.9% in 2014.
In DeWitt County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by more than half since 1969, reaching 21.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In DeWitt County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in DeWitt County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.1% in 2019 to 12.1% in 2020.
The share of households in DeWitt County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 10.8% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, DeWitt County, Texas.
How DeWitt County has changed
DeWitt County's population rose 10% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1994 and 1999
High on the chart: 20,373 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, DeWitt County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in DeWitt County had its largest rise, from 6,518 in 2010 to 7,945 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in DeWitt County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 7,945 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, DeWitt County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.2% | 2024 18.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,754 | 2024 $63,383 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 DeWitt County's history
1846
Founded in 1846. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 27,971. The 2020 Census counted 19,824, 71% of the peak. Census Bureau
1994
A thunderstorm in April 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1994
Hail in April 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A flash flood in October 1998 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flood in August 2017 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered DeWitt County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
DeWitt County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border DeWitt County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, DeWitt County ranks 4th of the six; Lavaca County is highest, at 25.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria County, TX | 82 | 14.3% | 24.0% |
| DeWitt County, TX | 73 | 18.5% | 21.8% |
| Karnes County, TX | 73 | 19.4% | 16.2% |
| Goliad County, TX | 63 | 15.4% | 25.2% |
| Gonzales County, TX | 61 | 18.0% | 21.2% |
| 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 DeWitt County the poorest county in Texas?
No, DeWitt County's poverty rate was 18.5% in 2024, 54th 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, DeWitt County ranks 92nd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in DeWitt 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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Texas RioGrande 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 DeWitt 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 DeWitt County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.