In Hartley County, Texas, benefit checks make up only 4 cents of every dollar of income
In Hartley County, 3.8% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hartley County's score
In Hartley County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 57.1. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 6.0. About one in 24 renters (4.1%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hartley 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, Hartley County is worse off than most counties on adults 25 to 54 not working (39.9%, 2020 to 2024) and people without health insurance (16.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 57.1 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202619th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working39.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 45.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.9% · August 202557th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.1% · second quarter of 202664th percentile
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- 33.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.2% · August 202542nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people77.7 · 202523rd percentile
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- 27.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.2% · 202416th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.8% · 202412th percentile
- People with a disability10.8% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- People without health insurance16.5% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$91,653 · 20249th percentile
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- 6.1 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 rent4.1% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.0% · fiscal year 20277th 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 Hartley 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 Hartley County, 16.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hartley County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Hartley County had its largest drop, from 11.0% in 2009 to 5.4% in 2014.
In Hartley County, pay from work still brings in more than twenty times as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Hartley County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income fell from 1969 to 2024, reaching 3.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hartley County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply after its 2016 high, from 8.1% in 2016 to 3.5% in 2017.
The share of households in Hartley County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 8.0%
High on the chart: 8.1% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hartley County, Texas.
How Hartley County has changed
Hartley County's population had its largest rise, from 3,842 in 1994 to 5,477 in 1999.
Hartley County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and is down 17% since
High on the chart: 6,024 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hartley County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Hartley County grew to about six times its 1990 size, reaching 2,868, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 1,668. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hartley County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.6% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.9% | 2024 9.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $43,527 | 2024 $91,653 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Hartley County's history
1876
Hartley County was created in 1876 and organized in 1891. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 6,062. The 2020 Census counted 5,382, 89% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1998
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hartley County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hartley County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Hartley County, in Texas and New Mexico, score higher than it does. Of the group, Hartley County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Quay County gets the largest, at 45.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quay County, NM | 67 | 20.6% | 45.7% |
| Union County, NM | 60 | 18.3% | 41.9% |
| Moore County, TX | 49 | 13.7% | 13.6% |
| Oldham County, TX | 47 | 12.7% | 14.0% |
| Dallam County, TX | 37 | 11.7% | 12.5% |
| Hartley County, TX | 22 | 9.2% | 3.8% |
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 Hartley County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Hartley County's poverty rate was 9.2% in 2024, 229th 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, Hartley County ranks 247th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hartley 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 Hartley 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 Hartley County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.