About two in five people with a credit file in Hill County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Hill County, 40.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hill County's score
In Hill County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 76.8. People with a car or retail loan behind: 8.0%, August 2025, higher than in 82% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 74.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hill 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.
Hill County does better than most counties on one measure: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (99.7, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.0% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.3% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
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- 74.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.7% · 202468th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.0% · 202472nd percentile
- People with a disability18.4% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- People without health insurance18.6% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,176 · 202463rd percentile
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- 65.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector40.0% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people99.7 · 202535th percentile
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- 61.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202653rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.2% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
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- 59.3 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 rent20.9% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.8% · fiscal year 202751st 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 Hill 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 Hill County, 20.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hill County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Hill County had its largest rise, from 21.1% in 1989 to 25.3% in 1994.
In Hill County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 28.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Hill County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hill County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 9.5% in 2010 to 12.9% in 2011.
The share of households in Hill County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 11.1%
Low on the chart: 9.3% 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, Hill County, Texas.
How Hill County has changed
Hill County's population nearly doubled to 38,771, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 38,771. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hill County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Hill County doubled to 11,848, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 11,848. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hill County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.0% | 2024 15.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,550 | 2024 $62,176 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Hill County's history
1853
Created in 1853 from Navarro County. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 46,760. The 2020 Census counted 35,874, 77% of the peak. Census Bureau
1923
Hillsboro Junior College established. Wikipedia
1959
A tornado in March 1959 killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1971
A tornado in May 1971 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1973
A tornado in March 1973 killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1976
A tornado in May 1976 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hill County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hill County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Hill County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hill County ranks 3rd of the seven; Limestone County is highest, at 32.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limestone County, TX | 80 | 14.8% | 32.4% |
| Hill County, TX | 79 | 15.7% | 28.5% |
| McLennan County, TX | 73 | 16.2% | 21.9% |
| Navarro County, TX | 73 | 14.5% | 28.6% |
| Johnson County, TX | 66 | 7.9% | 20.0% |
| Bosque County, TX | 63 | 14.5% | 28.5% |
| Ellis County, TX | 59 | 7.5% | 16.8% |
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 Hill County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Hill County's poverty rate was 15.7% in 2024, 99th 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, Hill County ranks 68th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hill 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.
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 Hill County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.