About one in four people in Foard County, Texas, has a disability
In Foard County, 22.6% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives Foard County's score
In Foard County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 83.3. About one in five people (19.1%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 72.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Foard 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.
Foard County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.2% · 202471st percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.0% · 202472nd percentile
- People with a disability22.6% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- People without health insurance19.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,717 · 202487th percentile
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- 72.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.8% · second quarter of 202669th percentile
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- 55.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202586th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202524th percentile
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- 52.3 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 rent15.2% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.1% · fiscal year 202771st percentile
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- 31.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202622nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.1% · 2020 to 202440th 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 Foard 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 Foard County, 31.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Foard County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Foard County had its largest rise, from 27.8% in 2004 to 33.2% in 2009.
In Foard County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 37% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Foard County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.3%; 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 Foard County getting SNAP food aid fell by more than half to 1.8%, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 1.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Foard County, Texas.
How Foard County has changed
Foard County's population had its largest drop, from 2,038 in 1984 to 1,823 in 1989.
Foard County's population fell by about half to 1,053, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 2,170 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Foard County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Foard County had its largest drop, from 536 in 1995 to 433 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Foard County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 388, with its low point on the chart in 2015
Low on the chart: 330 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Foard County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.7% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.6% | 2024 16.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,640 | 2024 $52,717 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Foard County's history
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 6,315. The 2020 Census counted 1,095, 17% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1979
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Foard County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Foard County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Foard County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Foard County ranks 2nd of the seven; Knox County is highest, at 40.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardeman County, TX | 83 | 18.1% | 35.7% |
| Baylor County, TX | 81 | 16.1% | 29.8% |
| Wilbarger County, TX | 76 | 14.9% | 25.3% |
| Cottle County, TX | 72 | 19.0% | 17.1% |
| Foard County, TX | 64 | 16.2% | 36.3% |
| Knox County, TX | 53 | 19.0% | 40.6% |
| King County, TX | 29 | 13.5% | 4.1% |
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 Foard County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Foard County's poverty rate was 16.2% in 2024, 85th 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, Foard County ranks 139th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Foard 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 Foard County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.