About two in five people with a credit file in Harrison County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Harrison County, 38.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Harrison County's score
In Harrison County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 68.0. About half of people (50.4%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 80% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 66.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Harrison 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.
Harrison County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (108.6, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 68.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.4% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.8% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.4% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
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- 66.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.5% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.0% · 202468th percentile
- People with a disability16.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- People without health insurance14.1% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,802 · 202458th percentile
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- 66.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector38.2% · August 202591st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people108.6 · 202540th percentile
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- 65.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202674th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.9% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
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- 59.6 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 rent17.3% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.4% · fiscal year 202774th 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 Harrison 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 Harrison County, 17.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Harrison County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Harrison County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 25.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Harrison County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Harrison County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 10.7% in 2009 to 12.1% in 2010; 15.0% in 2013 to 13.6% in 2014.
The share of households in Harrison County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 12.8%
Low on the chart: 10.7% 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, Harrison County, Texas.
How Harrison County has changed
Harrison County's population had its largest rise, from 51,287 in 1979 to 57,202 in 1984.
Harrison County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 71,370, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 57,611. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Harrison County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Harrison County had its largest drop, from 24,772 in 2015 to 22,149 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Harrison County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 24,772 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Harrison County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.6% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.3% | 2024 14.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,981 | 2024 $63,802 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Harrison County's history
1930
Largest oil field in the world discovered at nearby Kilgore. Wikipedia
1994
A thunderstorm in April 1994 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A tornado in April 2000 did $8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
Hail in May 2000 did $8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A tornado in January 2010 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 68,839, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Harrison County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Harrison County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Harrison County, in Texas and Louisiana, three score higher. Of the group, Harrison County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Marion County gets the largest, at 41.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caddo Parish, LA | 98 | 22.1% | 25.8% |
| Marion County, TX | 92 | 21.0% | 41.2% |
| Gregg County, TX | 86 | 16.1% | 25.7% |
| Upshur County, TX | 75 | 13.7% | 29.2% |
| Harrison County, TX | 75 | 14.5% | 25.0% |
| Rusk County, TX | 73 | 14.1% | 27.3% |
| Panola County, TX | 65 | 13.3% | 26.1% |
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 Harrison County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Harrison County's poverty rate was 14.5% in 2024, 133rd 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, Harrison County ranks 88th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Harrison 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 Harrison 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 Harrison County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.