About one in 13 people in Guadalupe County, Texas, lives below the poverty line
In Guadalupe County, 7.9% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Guadalupe County's score
In Guadalupe County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 57.6. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 26.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Guadalupe 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.
Guadalupe County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 57.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.0% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.6% · second quarter of 202647th percentile
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- 54.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.7% · August 202570th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people105.1 · 202538th percentile
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- 48.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202652nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.9% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
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- 36.9 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 rent16.8% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.0% · fiscal year 202731st percentile
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- 26.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.9% · 20247th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.0% · 202413th percentile
- People with a disability13.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- People without health insurance11.0% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$90,997 · 202410th 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 Guadalupe 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 Guadalupe County, 14.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Guadalupe County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Guadalupe County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 19.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Guadalupe County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Guadalupe County getting SNAP food aid made its largest gain on the way to its 2011 high, from 7.9% in 2010 to 9.4% in 2011.
The share of households in Guadalupe County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2019, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 6.5% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Guadalupe County, Texas.
How Guadalupe County has changed
Guadalupe County's population had its largest rise, from 101,495 in 2004 to 128,265 in 2009.
Guadalupe County's population grew to about six times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 195,166, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 46,016. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Guadalupe County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Guadalupe County had its largest rise in the last span, from 40,859 in 2020 to 49,773 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Guadalupe County more than tripled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 49,773, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 28,932. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Guadalupe County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.5% | 2024 7.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,506 | 2024 $90,997 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Guadalupe County's history
1929
Oil discovered at Darst Creek oilfield. Wikipedia
1998
A flash flood in October 1998 did $5 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A flash flood in November 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in March 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flood in June 2010 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 172,706, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Guadalupe County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Guadalupe County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Guadalupe County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Guadalupe County ranks 4th of the seven; Caldwell County is highest, at 24.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bexar County, TX | 79 | 14.6% | 18.4% |
| Caldwell County, TX | 70 | 11.8% | 24.0% |
| Gonzales County, TX | 61 | 18.0% | 21.2% |
| Hays County, TX | 43 | 10.8% | 12.8% |
| Wilson County, TX | 42 | 9.3% | 21.3% |
| Guadalupe County, TX | 41 | 7.9% | 19.5% |
| Comal County, TX | 26 | 6.9% | 17.2% |
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 Guadalupe County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Guadalupe County's poverty rate was 7.9% in 2024, 243rd 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, Guadalupe County ranks 209th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Guadalupe 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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Texas RioGrande 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 Guadalupe 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 Guadalupe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.