Howard County, Texas

County Distress Index: Elevated · 58.4 | 30,554 people · 129th most distressed in Texas

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Howard County, TX registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 58.4 — 946th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Debt & Delinquency, where residents carry heavy debt burdens with elevated delinquency and collections rates. Within Texas, it ranks 129th of 254 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 4 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Howard County's primary driver is Debt & Delinquency at 79.0 — worse than roughly 79% of U.S. counties.

Debt & Delinquency Primary driver 79.0
Debt in Collections 97
Medical Debt 92
Student Loan Delinquency 93
Auto Loan Delinquency 90
Credit Card Delinquency 93
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 9
Community Vulnerability 71.7
Uninsured Rate 86
Disability Rate 58
Income & Poverty 61.5
Poverty Rate 78
Income vs. State Median 38
Child Poverty Rate 68
Housing Cost Burden 53.4
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 47
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 52
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 32
Homeownership Rate 76
Rent-to-Income Ratio 60
Employment & Wages 26.6
Unemployment Rate 23
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 17
Business Formation Rate 40

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Howard County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Howard County
Howard County, TX 58.4 Elevated
Dawson County, TX 66.8 Serious +8.4
Mitchell County, TX 62.0 Elevated +3.6
Sterling County, TX 42.9 Normal -15.5
Martin County, TX 42.6 Normal -15.8
Glasscock County, TX 31.9 Healthy -26.5
Borden County, TX 27.8 Healthy -30.6

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Howard County
Grant County, NM 58.4 Elevated -0.0
Union County, AR 58.4 Elevated -0.0
Tift County, GA 58.5 Elevated +0.0
Marion County, IL 58.5 Elevated +0.0
Delta County, CO 58.5 Elevated +0.0

Download Data

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Find Help in Howard County

Find an Attorney

State Bar of Texas — Lawyer Referral Service offers a lawyer referral service for bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights.

Free Legal Aid

Legal aid organizations serving Howard County residents at no cost.

Self-Help Resources

Texas State Law Library — Foreclosure Research Guide Comprehensive guide to Texas foreclosure law with links to statutes, forms, and practice guides.
TexasLawHelp.org Free legal information and self-help resources for low-income Texans.

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