In Gaines County, Texas, benefit checks make up only 14 cents of every dollar of income
In Gaines County, 14.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Gaines County's score
In Gaines County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 54.0. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 12.7. About one in 11 renters (9.3%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Gaines 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.
Even so, Gaines County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (36.7%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (29.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 54.0 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202619th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.6% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
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- 50.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.2% · 202441st percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.8% · 202463rd percentile
- People with a disability11.3% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- People without health insurance36.7% · 2020 to 202499th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,008 · 202438th percentile
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- 48.4 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 behind2.8% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.3% · second quarter of 202661st percentile
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- 35.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.0% · August 202563rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people44.4 · 20257th percentile
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- 12.7 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 rent9.3% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.1% · fiscal year 202714th 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 Gaines 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 Gaines County, 9.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Gaines County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Gaines County had its largest drop, from 17.3% in 2009 to 12.8% in 2014.
In Gaines County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 14.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Gaines County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 14.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Gaines County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.8% in 2021 to 6.5% in 2022.
The share of households in Gaines County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen to 7.8%
Low on the chart: 6.0% in 2012. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Gaines County, Texas.
How Gaines County has changed
Gaines County's population doubled to 22,892, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2004 to 2009, reaching 17,163. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Gaines County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Gaines County doubled to 7,244, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 6,406. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Gaines County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.1% | 2024 12.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,837 | 2024 $71,008 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Gaines County's history
1905
Gaines County became an organized county in Texas on October 24, 1905. Wikipedia
1982
A tornado in May 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
Hail in May 1997 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
Hail in April 1999 did $8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A thunderstorm in June 2007 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 21,598, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1992
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Gaines County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Gaines County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Gaines County, in Texas and New Mexico, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Gaines County ranks 6th of the seven; Terry County is highest, at 31.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terry County, TX | 84 | 19.8% | 31.2% |
| Dawson County, TX | 82 | 20.1% | 27.7% |
| Lea County, NM | 73 | 15.7% | 19.0% |
| Andrews County, TX | 48 | 10.5% | 14.9% |
| Martin County, TX | 43 | 12.1% | 11.0% |
| Yoakum County, TX | 41 | 12.6% | 19.8% |
| Gaines County, TX | 33 | 12.2% | 14.2% |
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 Gaines County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Gaines County's poverty rate was 12.2% in 2024, 185th 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, Gaines County ranks 224th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Gaines 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.
Download the CSV for Gaines 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 Gaines County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.