About one in two people with a credit file in Hardeman County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Hardeman County, 45.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hardeman County's score
In Hardeman County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 93.7. Income and the safety net comes next, at 87.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hardeman 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.
Hardeman County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.3%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and adults 25 to 54 not working (17.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector45.5% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people315.2 · 202592nd percentile
-
- 87.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.1% · 202480th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.7% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability26.7% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance15.6% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,275 · 202485th percentile
-
- 83.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.6% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.6% · second quarter of 202688th percentile
-
- 59.1 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 rent17.8% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202770th percentile
-
- 25.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202623rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.2% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
-
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 Hardeman 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 Hardeman County, 21.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hardeman County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hardeman County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 38% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Hardeman County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hardeman County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.5% in 2020 to 11.6% in 2021.
The share of households in Hardeman County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 10.7% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hardeman County, Texas.
How Hardeman County has changed
Hardeman County's population fell by about half to 3,417, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 5,472. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hardeman County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Hardeman County had its largest drop, from 1,429 in 2000 to 1,247 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Hardeman County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 1,512 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hardeman County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.8% | 2024 18.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,512 | 2024 $53,275 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Hardeman County's history
1858
Hardeman County was created in 1858 and organized in 1884. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 14,532. The 2020 Census counted 3,549, 24% of the peak. Census Bureau
-
Since 1993
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hardeman County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hardeman County beside its neighbors
Hardeman County scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Texas and Oklahoma. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hardeman County ranks 2nd of the seven; Foard County is highest, at 36.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardeman County, TX | 83 | 18.1% | 35.7% |
| Harmon County, OK | 77 | 24.5% | 28.7% |
| Wilbarger County, TX | 76 | 14.9% | 25.3% |
| Cottle County, TX | 72 | 19.0% | 17.1% |
| Foard County, TX | 64 | 16.2% | 36.3% |
| Childress County, TX | 58 | 20.0% | 30.6% |
| Jackson County, OK | 54 | 16.4% | 24.7% |
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 Hardeman County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Hardeman County's poverty rate was 18.1% in 2024, 58th 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, Hardeman County ranks 47th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hardeman 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.
-
Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas
Legal aid
-
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 Hardeman 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 Hardeman County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.