#2,809 Texas · 2026

Hartley County, Texas

25.0 · low county distress 2,809th of 3,144 counties nationally · 5,145 residents How this is calculated →
The headline number
6% Hartley residents
vs.
5% U.S. median

Near the national median for credit card delinquency.

Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)

Main Findings

Wire lede · 31 words · paste-ready

Hartley County, Texas ranks 2,809th most distressed in the United States on the County Distress Index. Hartley sits near the national median across major distress indicators. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency.

Key Findings
  • 2,809th of 3,144 counties on the County Distress Index — 25.0 · low county distress, 254th in Texas.
  • 6% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due (U.S. median 5%). Credit card delinquency at the 57th percentile nationally. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
  • Uninsured rate at 14% — national median 8%, ranked at the 85th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023).
  • Safety Net & Buffer domain score 24 — weight 20.0% of the CDI composite. Source: American Default Research.
  • Labor domain score 22 — weight 20.0% of the CDI composite. Source: American Default Research.
County Distress Index cluster map. Hartley County, Texas and its neighbors colored by county distress score label.
Hartley and its 5 geographic neighbors, graded by County Distress Index score. Hartley County ranks 2,809th of 3,144. American Default Research
Wire summary — paste-ready, any angle 20 words

Hartley County has a low county distress score. The CDI reading is a county comparison, separate from national ADI bands.

— American Default Research
Index note — for feature use 26 words

The CDI gives this county a low county distress label. The score is a county comparison, separate from national ADI bands. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency.

— American Default Research

Indicator History

Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.

Updated Jul 1, 2026
BLS 1990 to 2025

Unemployment rate

3.1% +1.5 pp since 1990
Census 1989 to 2024

Poverty rate

9.2% +2.3 pp since 1989
BEA 1969 to 2024

Transfer income share

3.8% -0.7 pp since 1969
FRED/Equifax 2014 Q2 to 2025 Q4

Subprime credit population

23.1% -10.0 pp since 2014 Q2

The Indicators Behind Hartley County's CDI Score

Every number traces to a public source. Hartley County's value shown alongside TX's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.

How to read the table. A domain score is a 0–100 composite of the indicators in that domain; higher values represent a higher mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles. A county's domain rank is computed separately against all counties. Percentile is Hartley County's national rank among all 3,144 U.S. counties for that indicator, always oriented so higher = more distressed.
Indicator Hartley TX median U.S. median Pctile Source
Delinquency — domain score 41 · Rank 1,913 of 3,144
Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due 3% 7% 5% 15th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due 6% 7% 5% 57th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 23% 32% 23% 49th Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Equifax (2025)
Default & Legal — domain score 33 · Rank 2,278 of 3,144
Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections 21% 35% 23% 43rd Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents 78 78 126 24th Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025)
Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 5 · Rank 3,122 of 3,144
Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income 15% 22% 21% 5th HUD FMR (FY2026); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent 3% 17% 18% 5th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Labor — domain score 22 · Rank 2,383 of 3,144
Unemployment Share of labor force unemployed 3% 4% 4% 22nd U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026)
Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 24 · Rank 2,636 of 3,144
Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line 8% 22% 18% 6th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability 11% 16% 16% 9th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line 8% 15% 14% 10th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage 14% 17% 8% 85th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Data compiled May 2026 from Urban Institute Debt in America (2025 panel), U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-yr 2023, SAIPE 2023, Business Formation Statistics 2024), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS May 2026, QCEW 2024), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings 2025), and HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2026).

Five-Domain Breakdown

The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.

Delinquency Primary driver 41
Weight 20% · Rank 1,913 of 3,144
Default & Legal 33
Weight 20% · Rank 2,278 of 3,144
Safety Net & Buffer 24
Weight 20% · Rank 2,636 of 3,144
Labor 22
Weight 20% · Rank 2,383 of 3,144
Debt Burden (housing basis) 5
Weight 20% · Rank 3,122 of 3,144

Methodology

The County Distress Index is a 0–100 composite score of household financial distress, computed for all 3,144 U.S. counties. Higher scores indicate greater distress. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the CDI score is the equal-weight mean of those domain scores.

Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), FRED/Equifax (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), U.S. Courts Administrative Office (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and HUD Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2022 to 2026 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.

For Press & Research

Everything you need to cite Hartley County data — in under 60 seconds.

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Press contact: Ross Kilburn · press@americandefault.org · (307) 264-2992 · same-day response, 9am–6pm ET
Draft wire copy 124-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
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CHANNING, Texas — Hartley County ranks 2,809th among the nation's most financially distressed counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.

The composite score of 25.0 out of 100 gives Hartley a low county distress label. Among 3,144 U.S. counties scored, 2,808 counties rank more distressed. Within Texas, Hartley ranks 254th of 254 counties.

The index, which draws on 13 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, finds Hartley sitting near the national median across major distress indicators, with no single domain emerging as a clear driver.

American Default Research founder Ross Kilburn is available for interview at press@americandefault.org.

Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.

— 30 —

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Hartley County's CDI score, and what does it mean?

Hartley County scores 25.0 out of 100 on the County Distress Index, with the score label low county distress. It ranks 2,809th of 3,144 U.S. counties and 254th of 254 Texas counties. Higher county scores indicate more distress.

What drives Hartley County's distress score?

The highest-scoring domain is Delinquency, at a domain score of 41. Credit card delinquency ranks at the 57th percentile nationally.

How does Hartley County compare to its neighbors?

Hartley County's neighbors span three CDI score labels. Highest-distress neighbor: Quay County, NM (63.26, moderate-high county distress). Lowest: Dallam County (41.40, moderate-low county distress).

How is the County Distress Index calculated?

The CDI is a 0–100 composite of 13 source indicators across five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Data comes from Urban Institute, Census Bureau, BLS, U.S. Courts, HUD, and related public sources. Full methodology →
Ross Kilburn
Written by

Ross Kilburn, Founder

Founder · American Default Research · Seattle, Washington

Two decades working directly with financially distressed American households — from property preservation in 2003, to negotiating over 1,000 short sales during the Great Recession, to foreclosure defense marketing today. Author, The Ark Law Group Complete Guide to Short Sales (Auroch Press, 2013). Founded American Default Research in 2026.

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