About one in three people with a credit file in Grayson County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Grayson County, 34.8% 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 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grayson County's score
In Grayson County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 74.8. Housing costs come next, at 73.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grayson 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.
Grayson County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (13.6%, 2020 to 2024) and people below the poverty line (11.0%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.8% · August 202585th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people162 · 202563rd percentile
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- 73.0 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 rent22.4% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202771st percentile
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- 67.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.9% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.8% · second quarter of 202671st percentile
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- 50.0 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 working19.8% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
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- 43.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.0% · 202430th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.4% · 202435th percentile
- People with a disability13.6% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- People without health insurance15.7% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,865 · 202433rd 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 Grayson 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 Grayson County, 18.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grayson County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Grayson County had its largest rise, from 20.3% in 2004 to 24.6% in 2009.
In Grayson County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Grayson County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.4%; 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 Grayson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2017 to 2018, reaching 12.0%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Grayson County, Texas.
How Grayson County has changed
Grayson County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 134,008 in 2019 to 150,532 in 2024.
Grayson County's population doubled to 150,532, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 150,532 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grayson County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Grayson County rose 42% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 52,998. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grayson County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.3% | 2024 11.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,485 | 2024 $72,865 |
The table uses 3.9% 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 Grayson County's history
1846
Grayson County was created from Fannin County by the Texas State Legislature on March 17, 1846; Sherman was designated as the county seat. Wikipedia
1896
F5 tornado on May 15, 1896 killed 73 people in Sherman. Wikipedia
1938
Denison Dam construction authorized by Congress 1938, built with German POW labor. Wikipedia
1955
A tornado in April 1955 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
Hail in April 1995 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in June 2007 did $20 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 135,543, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A flood in December 2024 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1981
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grayson County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grayson County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Grayson County, in Texas and Oklahoma, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Grayson County ranks 5th of the eight; Marshall County is highest, at 32.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan County, OK | 75 | 14.2% | 29.9% |
| Grayson County, TX | 70 | 11.0% | 24.4% |
| Love County, OK | 68 | 15.1% | 30.5% |
| Fannin County, TX | 66 | 12.8% | 28.9% |
| Marshall County, OK | 65 | 14.6% | 32.7% |
| Cooke County, TX | 50 | 11.2% | 20.6% |
| Denton County, TX | 31 | 6.2% | 9.5% |
| Collin County, TX | 25 | 5.7% | 8.2% |
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 Grayson County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Grayson County's poverty rate was 11.0% in 2024, 209th 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, Grayson County ranks 107th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grayson 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 Grayson 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 Grayson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.