About one in three people with a credit file in Hamilton County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Hamilton County, 34.5% 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 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hamilton County's score
In Hamilton County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 67.8. Income and the safety net comes next, at 65.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hamilton 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.
Hamilton County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.0%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 67.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.5% · August 202584th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people127.6 · 202550th percentile
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- 65.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.7% · 202454th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.4% · 202470th percentile
- People with a disability20.8% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance13.5% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,790 · 202436th percentile
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- 62.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202667th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
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- 57.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.5% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.1% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.1% · second quarter of 202656th percentile
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- 20.3 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 rent14.1% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.0% · fiscal year 202713th 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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton County, 24.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hamilton County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hamilton County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 24.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Hamilton County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hamilton County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.7% in 2018 to 10.6% in 2019.
The share of households in Hamilton County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 6.3% 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, Hamilton County, Texas.
How Hamilton County has changed
Hamilton County's population rose by about a fifth to 8,644, the highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 7,792. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hamilton County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Hamilton County rose by about half to 2,829, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 2,257. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hamilton County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.0% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.1% | 2024 13.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,863 | 2024 $71,790 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Hamilton County's history
1867
Comanche raid on school killed teacher Ann Whitney with 18 arrows. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 15,315. The 2020 Census counted 8,222, 54% of the peak. Census Bureau
1994
Hail in April 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A flash flood in February 1997 did $2.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in June 2007 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in June 2007 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1990
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hamilton County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hamilton County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Hamilton County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hamilton County ranks 6th of the seven; Mills County is highest, at 34.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coryell County, TX | 78 | 14.6% | 28.2% |
| Erath County, TX | 68 | 14.9% | 21.3% |
| Bosque County, TX | 63 | 14.5% | 28.5% |
| Hamilton County, TX | 57 | 13.7% | 24.2% |
| Lampasas County, TX | 52 | 11.1% | 29.1% |
| Comanche County, TX | 48 | 14.5% | 28.7% |
| Mills County, TX | 32 | 13.6% | 34.9% |
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 Hamilton County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Hamilton County's poverty rate was 13.7% in 2024, 154th 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, Hamilton County ranks 157th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.