In Hansford County, Texas, benefit checks make up only 12 cents of every dollar of income
In Hansford County, 11.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hansford County's score
In Hansford County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 70.4. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 18.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 39.4 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hansford 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.
Even so, Hansford County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (21.3%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (8.1%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 70.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.1% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.6% · second quarter of 202647th percentile
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- 57.3 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 rent23.1% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.5% · fiscal year 202736th percentile
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- 48.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.1% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
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- 39.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.1% · 202431st percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.1% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability11.5% · 2020 to 202411th percentile
- People without health insurance21.3% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,870 · 202427th percentile
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- 18.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.4% · August 202531st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people39.4 · 20255th 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 Hansford 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 Hansford County, 14.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hansford County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Hansford County had its largest drop, from 14.8% in 2009 to 10.0% in 2014.
In Hansford County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 11.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about six times as much as benefit checks
In Hansford County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 11.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Hansford County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 2.8%
Biggest drop: 2015 to 2016, reaching 7.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hansford County, Texas.
How Hansford County has changed
Hansford County's population fell by about a quarter to 5,006, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1989 to 1994, reaching 5,394. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hansford County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Hansford County fell most sharply after its 2015 high, from 2,244 in 2015 to 1,927 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Hansford County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2005, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 1,827 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hansford County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.5% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.2% | 2024 11.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $36,659 | 2024 $75,870 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Hansford County's history
1876
Hansford County was created in 1876 and organized in 1889. Wikipedia
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 6,351. The 2020 Census counted 5,285, 83% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
A tornado in March 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in May 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1990
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hansford County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hansford County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Hansford County, in Texas and Oklahoma, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hansford County ranks 5th of the six; Hutchinson County is highest, at 26.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hutchinson County, TX | 69 | 14.4% | 26.2% |
| Hansford County, TX | 45 | 11.1% | 11.9% |
| Texas County, OK | 40 | 13.5% | 12.0% |
| Roberts County, TX | 33 | 8.6% | 15.8% |
| Sherman County, TX | 30 | 12.1% | 5.5% |
| Ochiltree County, TX | 29 | 11.4% | 14.1% |
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 Hansford County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Hansford County's poverty rate was 11.1% in 2024, 205th 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, Hansford County ranks 200th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hansford 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.
Download the CSV for Hansford 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 Hansford County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.