About two in five people with a credit file in Hale County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Hale County, 41.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hale County's score
In Hale County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 87.9. People with a car or retail loan behind: 9.5%, August 2025, higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 77.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hale 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.
Hale County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (69.3, 2025) and people with a disability (15.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.0% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.5% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.5% · second quarter of 202688th percentile
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- 77.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.6% · 202482nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.2% · 202482nd percentile
- People with a disability15.0% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- People without health insurance21.0% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,376 · 202483rd percentile
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- 75.2 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 rent24.3% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.4% · fiscal year 202766th percentile
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- 65.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202663rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.5% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
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- 57.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.3% · August 202595th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people69.3 · 202518th 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 Hale 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 Hale County, 14.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hale County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Hale County had its largest rise, from 20.7% in 2004 to 24.6% in 2009.
In Hale County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 29.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Hale County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 29.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hale County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 16.7% in 2021 to 23.0% in 2024, 2.1 points each year.
The share of households in Hale County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2019, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 14.1% 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, Hale County, Texas.
How Hale County has changed
Hale County's population fell by about a fifth to 31,953, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 36,081. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hale County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Hale County had its largest drop, from 14,365 in 2010 to 11,897 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Hale County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 14,631 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hale County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.0% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.5% | 2024 18.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,586 | 2024 $54,376 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Hale County's history
1946
Oil discovered in Anton-Irish field. Wikipedia
1965
A tornado in June 1965 did $25 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1970
A tornado in April 1970 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1973
A tornado in April 1973 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 37,592. The 2020 Census counted 32,522, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
2013
Cargill beef processing plant closed in 2013 due to drought. Wikipedia
2015
Hail in May 2015 did $300 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hale County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hale County beside its neighbors
Hale County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hale County ranks 2nd of the six; Floyd County is highest, at 35.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hale County, TX | 87 | 18.6% | 29.0% |
| Swisher County, TX | 83 | 23.2% | 17.2% |
| Floyd County, TX | 77 | 17.3% | 35.8% |
| Lubbock County, TX | 72 | 15.7% | 20.4% |
| Lamb County, TX | 64 | 17.2% | 23.0% |
| Castro County, TX | 47 | 16.7% | 11.8% |
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 Hale County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Hale County's poverty rate was 18.6% in 2024, 53rd 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, Hale County ranks 29th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hale 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.
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 Hale County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.