About one in two people with a credit file in Ector County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Ector County, 46.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ector County's score
In Ector County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 88.5. About three in five people (56.2%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 91% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 79.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ector 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.
Ector County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (10.9%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (68.1, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.8% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.2% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.2% · second quarter of 202691st percentile
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- 79.6 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 rent23.6% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.1% · fiscal year 202778th percentile
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- 58.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector46.7% · August 202599th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people68.1 · 202518th percentile
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- 56.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.2% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
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- 51.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.8% · 202463rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.6% · 202458th percentile
- People with a disability10.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- People without health insurance22.1% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,887 · 202427th 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 Ector 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 Ector County, 9.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ector County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Ector County had its largest drop, from 18.0% in 2009 to 12.1% in 2014.
In Ector County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 15.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Ector County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ector County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 14.8% in 2014 to 13.2% in 2015; 10.9% in 2023 to 12.5% in 2024.
The share of households in Ector County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 12.5%
Low on the chart: 10.2% 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, Ector County, Texas.
How Ector County has changed
Ector County's population doubled to 170,022, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 134,006. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ector County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Ector County doubled to 80,449, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 73,276. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ector County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.3% | 2024 14.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,217 | 2024 $75,887 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Ector County's history
1887
The county was founded in 1887 and organized in 1891. Wikipedia
1927
Oil was discovered in Ector County on the Connell Ranch in 1927; Penn Field opened 1929; Cowden Field opened 1930. Wikipedia
1929
Odessa population rose from 750 in 1925 to 5,000 by 1929 following oil boom. Wikipedia
1999
Hail in May 1999 did $85 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A flash flood in May 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A flash flood in September 2004 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
Hail in June 2017 did $100 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 165,171, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1989
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ector County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ector County beside its neighbors
Ector County scores higher than all six counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Ector County ranks 3rd of the seven; Crane County is highest, at 16.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ector County, TX | 78 | 14.8% | 15.2% |
| Ward County, TX | 70 | 13.6% | 15.7% |
| Midland County, TX | 53 | 11.2% | 5.6% |
| Andrews County, TX | 48 | 10.5% | 14.9% |
| Winkler County, TX | 43 | 14.3% | 15.1% |
| Crane County, TX | 39 | 11.4% | 16.9% |
| Upton County, TX | 34 | 13.4% | 15.1% |
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 Ector County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Ector County's poverty rate was 14.8% in 2024, 123rd 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, Ector County ranks 75th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ector 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.
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 Ector County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.