About half people with a credit file in Duval County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Duval County, 49.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Duval County's score
In Duval County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 93.9. About one in four people (24.8%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 91.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Duval 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.
Duval County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (20.8, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line24.8% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line36.8% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability22.2% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- People without health insurance22.2% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$45,438 · 2024top 5%
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- 91.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind12.1% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.3% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score66.4% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 86.8 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 202678th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working36.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 62.7 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 rent14.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.5% · fiscal year 202794th percentile
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- 50.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector49.7% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people20.8 · 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 Duval 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 Duval County, 17.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Duval County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Duval County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 45.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Duval County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 45.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Duval County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter to 24.9%, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2019 and 2020
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 27.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Duval County, Texas.
How Duval County has changed
Duval County's population had its largest rise, from 12,238 in 1979 to 13,529 in 1984.
Duval County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 29% since
High on the chart: 13,529 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Duval County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Duval County rose by about a quarter to 3,706, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 3,706. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Duval County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.4% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 36.3% | 2024 24.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,335 | 2024 $45,438 |
The table uses 4.6% 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 Duval County's history
1858
On February 1, 1858, the Texas Legislature established Duval County. Wikipedia
1886
Sheep Wars erupted following livestock collapse in winter 1886-1887. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 20,565. The 2020 Census counted 9,831, 48% of the peak. Census Bureau
2013
Hail in March 2013 did $5.25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
Hail in March 2013 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Duval County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Duval County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Duval County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Duval County ranks 2nd of the seven; Brooks County is highest, at 46.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Wells County, TX | 95 | 22.8% | 36.3% |
| Duval County, TX | 92 | 24.8% | 45.8% |
| Brooks County, TX | 90 | 30.6% | 46.9% |
| Webb County, TX | 87 | 20.6% | 24.6% |
| Jim Hogg County, TX | 87 | 22.1% | 39.7% |
| Live Oak County, TX | 80 | 18.0% | 24.2% |
| McMullen County, TX | 64 | 10.9% | 15.6% |
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 Duval County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Duval County's poverty rate was 24.8% in 2024, 9th 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, Duval County ranks 12th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Duval 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.
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 Duval County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.