About one in three people with a credit file in Garza County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Garza County, 33.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Garza County's score
In Garza County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 83.5. About three in five people (55.2%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 89% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 73.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Garza 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.
Garza County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (3.0%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (44.3, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.3% · August 202587th 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 score55.2% · second quarter of 202689th percentile
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- 73.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.2% · 202476th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.1% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability15.0% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- People without health insurance18.0% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,106 · 202477th percentile
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- 68.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202680th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not workingnot published for this county; scored at the state median · 2020 to 202457th percentile
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- 45.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.9% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people44.3 · 20257th percentile
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- 37.3 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 rent3.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202769th 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 Garza 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 Garza County, 14.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Garza County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Garza County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 29.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Garza County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.4%; 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 Garza County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a third from 2009 to 2024, reaching 11.0%, with most of the change between 2020 and 2021
High on the chart: 17.2% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Garza County, Texas.
How Garza County has changed
Garza County's population had its largest drop in the last span, from 5,851 in 2019 to 4,645 in 2024.
Garza County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 6,368 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Garza County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Garza County had its largest drop in the last span, from 1,669 in 2020 to 1,361 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Garza County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 1,834 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Garza County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 5.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.8% | 2024 17.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,594 | 2024 $57,106 |
The table uses 5.3% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Garza County's history
1876
Garza County was formed in 1876 from Bexar County. Wikipedia
1913
C.W. Post cotton gin and mill built 1909-1913. Wikipedia
1926
Oil discovered. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 6,611. The 2020 Census counted 5,816, 88% of the peak. Census Bureau
2010
A flash flood in July 2010 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1992
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Garza County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Garza County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Garza County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Garza County ranks 2nd of the six; Crosby County is highest, at 42.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crosby County, TX | 87 | 21.2% | 42.1% |
| Garza County, TX | 70 | 17.2% | 29.4% |
| Scurry County, TX | 60 | 15.1% | 23.3% |
| Kent County, TX | 48 | 11.9% | 29.0% |
| Lynn County, TX | 37 | 13.9% | 23.8% |
| Borden County, TX | 34 | 10.2% | 6.3% |
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 Garza County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Garza County's poverty rate was 17.2% in 2024, 70th 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, Garza County ranks 108th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Garza 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 Garza County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.