In Glasscock County, Texas, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in eight dollars of the typical household's income
In Glasscock County, 12.0% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Glasscock County's score
In Glasscock County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 55.4. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 5.0. Almost no renters (0.0%, 2020 to 2024) pay half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Glasscock 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, Glasscock County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (25.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 55.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit 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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- 51.7 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 score28.0% · second quarter of 20268th percentile
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- 36.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.2% · 20249th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.7% · 20245th percentile
- People with a disability17.9% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance25.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$107,849 · 20245th or lower percentile
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- 35.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.2% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
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- 5.0 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 rent0.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income12.0% · fiscal year 20275th or lower 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 Glasscock 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 Glasscock 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
Glasscock County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Glasscock County had its largest drop, from 12.7% in 2009 to 4.6% in 2014.
In Glasscock County, pay from work still brings in about eight times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Glasscock County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 5.7%; 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 Glasscock County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen to 9.8%
Low on the chart: 0.0% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Glasscock County, Texas.
How Glasscock County has changed
Glasscock County's population had its largest rise, from 1,180 in 1979 to 1,419 in 1984.
Glasscock County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1994 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 1,451 in 1994. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Glasscock County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Glasscock County tripled to 948, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 948. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Glasscock County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.8% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.5% | 2024 8.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,675 | 2024 $107,849 |
The table uses 2.8% for 2025; the score uses 2.5% 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 Glasscock County's history
1893
Glasscock County was organized in 1893. Wikipedia
1950
Oil discovered nearby. Wikipedia
1989
A thunderstorm in June 1989 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
The county's largest recorded population was the 1990 Census count of 1,447. The 2020 Census counted 1,116, 77% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1993
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Glasscock County. FEMA
Glasscock County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Glasscock County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Glasscock County ranks 5th of the six; Howard County is highest, at 19.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County, TX | 64 | 15.4% | 19.2% |
| Midland County, TX | 53 | 11.2% | 5.6% |
| Sterling County, TX | 49 | 10.8% | 16.4% |
| Reagan County, TX | 47 | 10.1% | 15.0% |
| Martin County, TX | 43 | 12.1% | 11.0% |
| Glasscock County, TX | 26 | 8.2% | 5.7% |
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 Glasscock County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Glasscock County's poverty rate was 8.2% in 2024, 237th 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, Glasscock County ranks 240th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Glasscock 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 Glasscock 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 Glasscock County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.