About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 in Grimes County, Texas, is not working
In Grimes County, 32.4% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grimes County's score
In Grimes County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 84.1. Late payments on loans come next, at 64.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grimes 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.
Grimes County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (55.6, 2025) and people with a disability (15.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.1 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202674th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.4% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
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- 64.1 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 behind6.2% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.0% · second quarter of 202660th percentile
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- 64.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.0% · 202464th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.8% · 202467th percentile
- People with a disability15.4% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- People without health insurance18.3% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,168 · 202448th percentile
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- 50.2 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 rent18.3% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.6% · fiscal year 202749th percentile
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- 47.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.0% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people55.6 · 202511th 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 Grimes 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 Grimes County, 18.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grimes County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Grimes County had its largest rise, from 21.6% in 2014 to 25.9% in 2019.
In Grimes County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by more than half since 1969, reaching 27.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Grimes County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Grimes County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (9.4% in 2009) to 12.1% in 2010.
The share of households in Grimes County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 13.8%
Low on the chart: 9.4% 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, Grimes County, Texas.
How Grimes County has changed
Grimes County's population had its largest rise, from 13,189 in 1979 to 18,549 in 1984.
Grimes County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33,448, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 18,756. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grimes County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Grimes County nearly doubled to 8,470, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 8,470. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grimes County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.4% | 2024 15.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,727 | 2024 $67,168 |
The table uses 4.5% 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 Grimes County's history
1846
Grimes County was formed from Montgomery County in 1846. Wikipedia
1900
African Americans left county in large numbers during Great Migration. Wikipedia
1988
A thunderstorm in March 1988 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
Lightning in October 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 29,268, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1993
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grimes County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Grimes County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Grimes County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Grimes County ranks 2nd of the seven; Madison County is highest, at 29.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walker County, TX | 79 | 23.3% | 27.2% |
| Grimes County, TX | 70 | 15.0% | 27.5% |
| Waller County, TX | 68 | 13.6% | 17.3% |
| Madison County, TX | 64 | 15.8% | 29.4% |
| Brazos County, TX | 55 | 22.1% | 14.9% |
| Montgomery County, TX | 46 | 9.1% | 12.1% |
| Washington County, TX | 39 | 12.4% | 22.8% |
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 Grimes County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Grimes County's poverty rate was 15.0% in 2024, 115th 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, Grimes County ranks 106th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grimes 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.
Download the CSV for Grimes 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 Grimes County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.