About one in three people with a credit file in Donley County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Donley County, 34.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 85% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Donley County's score
In Donley County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 73.4. About half of people (47.5%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 73% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 69.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Donley 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.
Donley County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (31.1, 2025) and people with a disability (8.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit 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 score47.5% · second quarter of 202673rd percentile
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- 69.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.2% · 202476th percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.6% · 202483rd percentile
- People with a disability8.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- People without health insurance17.9% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,408 · 202489th percentile
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- 59.1 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 rent16.8% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.7% · fiscal year 202776th percentile
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- 57.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202661st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
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- 45.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.5% · August 202584th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people31.1 · 20255th or lower 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 Donley 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 Donley County, 25.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Donley County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Donley County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 33.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Donley County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Donley County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 7.3% in 2019 to 3.4% in 2020.
The share of households in Donley County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 3.4%
Low on the chart: 2.1% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Donley County, Texas.
How Donley County has changed
Donley County's population had its largest drop, from 4,175 in 1984 to 3,788 in 1989.
Donley County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 4,175 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Donley County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Donley County had its largest drop, from 988 in 2015 to 885 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Donley County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 1,033 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Donley County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.8% | 2024 17.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,887 | 2024 $51,408 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Donley County's history
1876
Created in 1876, organized in 1882. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 10,262. The 2020 Census counted 3,258, 32% of the peak. Census Bureau
1970
A tornado in April 1970 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed 16 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1989
A tornado in June 1989 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1989
A tornado in June 1989 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Donley County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Donley County beside its neighbors
Donley County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Donley County ranks 2nd of the six; Hall County is highest, at 40.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donley County, TX | 68 | 17.2% | 33.5% |
| Hall County, TX | 66 | 22.1% | 40.4% |
| Gray County, TX | 57 | 15.4% | 24.2% |
| Briscoe County, TX | 55 | 14.7% | 27.6% |
| Collingsworth County, TX | 49 | 16.6% | 32.1% |
| Armstrong County, TX | 10 | 10.1% | 27.0% |
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 Donley County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Donley County's poverty rate was 17.2% in 2024, 70th 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, Donley County ranks 112th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Donley 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 Donley 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 Donley County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.