About one in three people with a credit file in Hopkins County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Hopkins County, 33.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 82% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hopkins County's score
In Hopkins County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 80.6. People with a car or retail loan behind: 8.8%, August 2025, higher than in 87% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 64.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hopkins 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.
Hopkins County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.8% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.1% · second quarter of 202672nd percentile
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- 64.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.2% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people117.9 · 202545th percentile
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- 55.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.4% · 202451st percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.8% · 202453rd percentile
- People with a disability14.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- People without health insurance18.7% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,078 · 202438th percentile
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- 40.2 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 rent15.4% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202746th percentile
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- 39.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202630th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.5% · 2020 to 202448th 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 Hopkins 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 Hopkins County, 18.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hopkins County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Hopkins County had its largest rise, from 14.2% in 1989 to 18.9% in 1994.
In Hopkins County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 24.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Hopkins County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hopkins County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 10.2% in 2010 to 12.2% in 2011; 13.7% in 2018 to 11.7% in 2019.
The share of households in Hopkins County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2018 to 2019, reaching 11.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hopkins County, Texas.
How Hopkins County has changed
Hopkins County's population had its largest rise, from 24,780 in 1979 to 28,051 in 1984.
Hopkins County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38,784, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 35,518. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hopkins County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Hopkins County nearly doubled to 14,697, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 14,697. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hopkins County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.0% | 2024 13.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,205 | 2024 $71,078 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Hopkins County's history
1846
Founded in 1846. Wikipedia
1868
Federal troops occupied Sulphur Springs for two years during Reconstruction to protect freedmen. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in October 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 36,787, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2022
A tornado in November 2022 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A thunderstorm in June 2023 did $29 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hopkins County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hopkins County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Hopkins County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hopkins County ranks 4th of the six; Wood County is highest, at 36.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood County, TX | 78 | 13.7% | 36.4% |
| Hunt County, TX | 78 | 11.1% | 22.7% |
| Hopkins County, TX | 59 | 13.4% | 24.0% |
| Delta County, TX | 56 | 14.6% | 31.3% |
| Rains County, TX | 51 | 11.2% | 33.9% |
| Franklin County, TX | 37 | 13.4% | 23.8% |
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 Hopkins County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Hopkins County's poverty rate was 13.4% in 2024, 165th 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, Hopkins County ranks 152nd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hopkins 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 Hopkins 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 Hopkins County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.