About three in ten people in Dickens County, Texas, have a disability
In Dickens County, 27.8% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dickens County's score
In Dickens County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 84.3. Housing costs come next, at 78.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dickens 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.
Dickens County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.8% · 202479th percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.8% · 202481st percentile
- People with a disability27.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance12.0% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,796 · 202487th percentile
-
- 78.7 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 rent22.1% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.2% · fiscal year 202784th percentile
-
- 69.9 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 score43.7% · second quarter of 202662nd percentile
-
- 61.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202631st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.2% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
-
- 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
-
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 Dickens 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 Dickens County, 26.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dickens County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dickens County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 39.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Dickens County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Dickens County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2022 low, from 10.7% in 2022 to 14.9% in 2023.
The share of households in Dickens County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 10.7% 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, Dickens County, Texas.
How Dickens County has changed
Dickens County's population fell by more than half to 1,725, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 3,431. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dickens County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Dickens County had its largest rise in the last span, from 444 in 2020 to 530 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Dickens County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 530, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 444 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dickens County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.6% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 28.2% | 2024 17.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,122 | 2024 $52,796 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Dickens County's history
1876
Created in 1876, organized in 1891. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 8,601. The 2020 Census counted 1,770, 21% of the peak. Census Bureau
-
Since 1992
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dickens County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dickens County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Dickens County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dickens County ranks 2nd of the five; Crosby County is highest, at 42.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crosby County, TX | 87 | 21.2% | 42.1% |
| Dickens County, TX | 83 | 17.8% | 39.1% |
| Motley County, TX | 76 | 19.4% | 36.3% |
| Kent County, TX | 48 | 11.9% | 29.0% |
| 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 Dickens County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Dickens County's poverty rate was 17.8% in 2024, 63rd 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, Dickens County ranks 50th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dickens 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.
-
Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas
Legal aid
-
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 Dickens 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 Dickens County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.