About one in three people with a credit file in Ellis County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Ellis County, 31.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 78% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ellis County's score
In Ellis County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 80.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 228.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 81% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 70.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ellis 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.
Ellis County does better than most counties on two measures: median household income ($99,726, 2024) and people below the poverty line (7.5%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.7% · August 202578th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people228.4 · 202581st percentile
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- 70.3 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 rent23.5% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.7% · fiscal year 202760th percentile
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- 63.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.7% · second quarter of 202655th percentile
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- 41.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202651st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.5% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
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- 24.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.5% · 20245th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.6% · 202411th percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance15.0% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$99,726 · 20245th 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 Ellis 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 Ellis County, 13.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ellis County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Ellis County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 16.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Ellis County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ellis County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.6% in 2010 to 10.2% in 2011.
The share of households in Ellis County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 6.8%
Low on the chart: 6.7% 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, Ellis County, Texas.
How Ellis County has changed
Ellis County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 186,929 in 2019 to 232,387 in 2024.
Ellis County's population grew to about five times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 232,387, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 57,408. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ellis County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Ellis County had its largest rise in the last span, from 52,547 in 2020 to 64,686 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Ellis County tripled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 64,686, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 37,655. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ellis County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.8% | 2024 7.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,293 | 2024 $99,726 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Ellis County's history
2004
A flash flood in July 2004 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in October 2019 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 192,455, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
Hail in April 2021 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A thunderstorm in March 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1989
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ellis County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ellis County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Ellis County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Ellis County ranks 5th of the eight; Henderson County is highest, at 30.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henderson County, TX | 90 | 15.9% | 30.4% |
| Hill County, TX | 79 | 15.7% | 28.5% |
| Dallas County, TX | 79 | 12.5% | 11.1% |
| Kaufman County, TX | 77 | 8.5% | 16.5% |
| Navarro County, TX | 73 | 14.5% | 28.6% |
| Tarrant County, TX | 71 | 11.5% | 13.4% |
| Johnson County, TX | 66 | 7.9% | 20.0% |
| Ellis County, TX | 59 | 7.5% | 16.8% |
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 Ellis County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Ellis County's poverty rate was 7.5% in 2024, 247th 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, Ellis County ranks 150th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ellis 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 Ellis County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.