About one in three people with a credit file in Falls County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Falls County, 34.9% 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 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Falls County's score
In Falls County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 82.8. About three in five people (56.0%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 91% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 78.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Falls 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.
Falls County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.1%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (69.4, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.3% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.6% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.0% · second quarter of 202691st percentile
-
- 78.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.7% · 202482nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.0% · 202479th percentile
- People with a disability16.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- People without health insurance16.9% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,486 · 202479th percentile
-
- 52.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.9% · August 202585th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people69.4 · 202518th percentile
-
- 48.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202655th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.2% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
-
- 37.1 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 rent11.1% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.5% · fiscal year 202758th percentile
-
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 Falls 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 Falls County, 19.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Falls County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Falls County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 26.9% in 2004 to 33.7% in 2009.
In Falls County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 31.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Falls County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Falls County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 17.9% in 2015 to 20.4% in 2016.
The share of households in Falls County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a third
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 15.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Falls County, Texas.
How Falls County has changed
Falls County's population had its largest rise, from 17,312 in 1979 to 18,516 in 1984.
Falls County's population fell 5% from 1969 to 2019, then turned up in 2024
High on the chart: 18,572 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Falls County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Falls County fell 18% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 3,970 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Falls County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.2% | 2024 18.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,564 | 2024 $56,486 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Falls County's history
1850
Falls County was formed by the state legislature from Limestone and Milam Counties in 1850. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 38,771. The 2020 Census counted 16,968, 44% of the peak. Census Bureau
2016
A flood in March 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1974
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Falls County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Falls County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Falls County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Falls County ranks 2nd of the six; Limestone County is highest, at 32.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limestone County, TX | 80 | 14.8% | 32.4% |
| Bell County, TX | 78 | 13.8% | 24.0% |
| Robertson County, TX | 78 | 15.7% | 26.4% |
| McLennan County, TX | 73 | 16.2% | 21.9% |
| Falls County, TX | 66 | 18.7% | 31.5% |
| Milam County, TX | 61 | 13.8% | 30.8% |
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 Falls County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Falls County's poverty rate was 18.7% in 2024, 51st 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, Falls County ranks 125th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Falls 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.
-
Lone Star Legal Aid
Legal aid
-
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 Falls County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.