About one in three people with a credit file in El Paso County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In El Paso County, 33.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 82% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives El Paso County's score
In El Paso County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 79.6. People with a credit card behind: 7.6%, August 2025, higher than in 80% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 77.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in El Paso 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.
El Paso County does better than most counties on one measure: people with a disability (13.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.6% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.6% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.3% · second quarter of 202678th percentile
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- 77.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.2% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people195.1 · 202573rd percentile
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- 76.1 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 rent23.7% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202771st percentile
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- 71.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.1% · 202480th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.4% · 202477th percentile
- People with a disability13.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- People without health insurance21.6% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,883 · 202470th percentile
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- 65.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202666th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.2% · 2020 to 202464th 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 El Paso 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 El Paso County, 13.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
El Paso County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In El Paso County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 24.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In El Paso County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 24.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in El Paso County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 20.6% in 2011 to 22.0% in 2012.
The share of households in El Paso County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Biggest drop: 2016 to 2017, reaching 22.0%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, El Paso County, Texas.
How El Paso County has changed
El Paso County's population had its largest rise, from 717,652 in 2004 to 786,759 in 2009.
El Paso County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 875,784, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 875,784. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, El Paso County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in El Paso County had its largest rise in the last span, from 298,737 in 2020 to 338,016 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in El Paso County nearly doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 338,016, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 257,018. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, El Paso County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.7% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 31.5% | 2024 18.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,576 | 2024 $59,883 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in El Paso County's history
1871
County created in 1850 and later organized in 1871. Wikipedia
2006
A flash flood in August 2006 did $180 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A flash flood in August 2006 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
Hail in September 2009 did $100 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
Hail in November 2016 did $300 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 865,657, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered El Paso County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
El Paso County beside its neighbors
El Paso County scores higher than all three counties that border it, in Texas and New Mexico. Of the group, El Paso County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Hudspeth County gets the largest, at 32.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso County, TX | 89 | 18.1% | 24.6% |
| Doña Ana County, NM | 81 | 17.9% | 29.9% |
| Otero County, NM | 75 | 19.3% | 30.7% |
| Hudspeth County, TX | 68 | 30.2% | 32.5% |
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 El Paso County the poorest county in Texas?
No, El Paso County's poverty rate was 18.1% in 2024, 58th 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, El Paso County ranks 21st of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in El Paso 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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Adults and Youth United Development Association Inc
HUD-approved housing counselor
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EL Paso Community Action Program, Project Bravo, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Gecu Federal Credit Union
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 El Paso 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 El Paso County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.