About two in five people with a credit file in Gregg County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Gregg County, 38.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Gregg County's score
In Gregg County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 81.0. About half of people (51.8%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 83% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 78.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Gregg 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.
Gregg County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (14.0%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (113.3, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.1% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.8% · second quarter of 202683rd percentile
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- 78.3 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 rent23.6% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.7% · fiscal year 202775th percentile
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- 67.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202675th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.3% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
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- 67.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector38.1% · August 202591st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people113.3 · 202542nd percentile
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- 65.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.1% · 202471st percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.1% · 202472nd percentile
- People with a disability14.0% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- People without health insurance16.5% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,490 · 202462nd 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 Gregg 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 Gregg County, 16.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Gregg County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Gregg County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 25.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Gregg County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Gregg County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.0% in 2013 to 14.1% in 2014.
The share of households in Gregg County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 13.5%
Low on the chart: 9.6% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Gregg County, Texas.
How Gregg County has changed
Gregg County's population nearly doubled to 126,679, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 96,670. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Gregg County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Gregg County had its largest rise, from 56,493 in 1995 to 63,779 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Gregg County rose by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 75,602
High on the chart: 76,824 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Gregg County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.1% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.1% | 2024 16.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,459 | 2024 $62,490 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Gregg County's history
1873
Organized in 1873 from portions of Harrison, Rusk, and Upshur Counties. Wikipedia
1930
Oil discovered near Joinerville in October 1930, and shortly after oil was discovered near Pine Tree/East Mountain within Gregg County; East Texas Oil Field boom increased county population by more than 500 percent by 1940. Wikipedia
1930
African American sharecroppers and tenant farmers engaged in cotton farming left the area during Great Migration north beginning after oil discovery boom in 1930s. Wikipedia
1999
A tornado in May 1999 did $19 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
Lightning in September 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A thunderstorm in April 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A thunderstorm in March 2018 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 124,239, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Gregg County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Gregg County beside its neighbors
Gregg County scores higher than all four counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Gregg County ranks 3rd of the five; Upshur County is highest, at 29.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gregg County, TX | 86 | 16.1% | 25.7% |
| Upshur County, TX | 75 | 13.7% | 29.2% |
| Harrison County, TX | 75 | 14.5% | 25.0% |
| Rusk County, TX | 73 | 14.1% | 27.3% |
| Smith County, TX | 63 | 12.1% | 18.8% |
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 Gregg County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Gregg County's poverty rate was 16.1% in 2024, 89th 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, Gregg County ranks 33rd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Gregg 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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Lone Star Legal Aid
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 Gregg County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.