About two in five people with a credit file in Houston County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Houston County, 41.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 86% of U.S. counties.
What drives Houston County's score
In Houston County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 84.9. People with a car or retail loan behind: 11.7%, August 2025, higher than in 96% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 84.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Houston 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.
Houston County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.0%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (95.2, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.7% · August 202596th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score58.2% · second quarter of 202694th percentile
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- 84.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.3% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.9% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability24.2% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- People without health insurance11.5% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,607 · 202481st percentile
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- 76.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202671st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.3% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
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- 64.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.6% · August 202596th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people95.2 · 202533rd percentile
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- 47.4 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 rent14.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.6% · fiscal year 202767th 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 Houston 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 Houston County, 22.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Houston County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Houston County had its largest rise, from 25.8% in 2004 to 32.3% in 2009.
In Houston County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 32.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Houston County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Houston County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.0% in 2017 to 14.7% in 2018.
The share of households in Houston County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 17.9%, with its low point on the chart in 2019
Low on the chart: 13.9% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Houston County, Texas.
How Houston County has changed
Houston County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22,197, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 23,660 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Houston County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Houston County rose by about a quarter to 7,667, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 7,649. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Houston County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.2% | 2024 19.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,667 | 2024 $55,607 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Houston County's history
1837
Houston County was the first new county created under the nine-year Republic of Texas on June 12, 1837, with original boundaries including all of present-day Anderson and Trinity Counties and portions of Henderson and Polk Counties. Wikipedia
1901
Ratcliff—separated from Four C Mill by company fence. Wikipedia
1902
Timber harvesting—300,000 board feet daily. Wikipedia
1920
Four C Mill—timber exhausted, closed. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 31,137. The 2020 Census counted 22,066, 71% of the peak. Census Bureau
1953
A tornado in May 1953 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
Lightning in September 2004 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in April 2019 did $1 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
A tornado in March 2022 did $5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1989
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Houston County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Houston County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Houston County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Houston County ranks 2nd of the eight; Trinity County is highest, at 39.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity County, TX | 94 | 16.8% | 39.6% |
| Anderson County, TX | 86 | 20.0% | 28.2% |
| Houston County, TX | 86 | 19.3% | 32.4% |
| Angelina County, TX | 83 | 12.7% | 29.1% |
| Walker County, TX | 79 | 23.3% | 27.2% |
| Cherokee County, TX | 74 | 16.0% | 31.7% |
| Madison County, TX | 64 | 15.8% | 29.4% |
| Leon County, TX | 57 | 14.2% | 29.0% |
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 Houston County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Houston County's poverty rate was 19.3% in 2024, 45th 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, Houston County ranks 36th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Houston 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 Houston 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 Houston County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.