About two in five people with a credit file in Hutchinson County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Hutchinson County, 41.0% 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 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hutchinson County's score
In Hutchinson County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 78.9. People with a credit card behind: 8.0%, August 2025, higher than in 84% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 62.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hutchinson 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.
Hutchinson County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (59.9, 2025) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.3%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.0% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.5% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.7% · second quarter of 202683rd percentile
-
- 62.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.4% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.5% · 202446th percentile
- People with a disability16.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance13.1% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,073 · 202470th percentile
-
- 62.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202658th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.4% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
-
- 55.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.0% · August 202595th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people59.9 · 202514th percentile
-
- 48.4 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 rent18.3% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202745th percentile
-
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 Hutchinson 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 Hutchinson County, 18.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hutchinson County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hutchinson County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 26.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Hutchinson County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 26.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hutchinson County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 9.3% in 2012 to 11.5% in 2013; 12.6% in 2017 to 10.4% in 2018.
The share of households in Hutchinson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2017 to 2018, reaching 10.4%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hutchinson County, Texas.
How Hutchinson County has changed
Hutchinson County's population had its largest rise, from 25,604 in 1979 to 29,519 in 1984.
Hutchinson County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 29,519 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hutchinson County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Hutchinson County fell by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 7,708, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 9,857 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hutchinson County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.8% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.4% | 2024 14.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,442 | 2024 $60,073 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Hutchinson County's history
1876
Created in 1876, not organized until 1901. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 34,419. The 2020 Census counted 20,617, 60% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
A tornado in June 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1983
A tornado in June 1983 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in June 1992 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in June 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1989
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hutchinson County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hutchinson County beside its neighbors
Hutchinson County scores higher than all four counties that border it. Of the group, Hutchinson County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (26.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hutchinson County, TX | 69 | 14.4% | 26.2% |
| Moore County, TX | 49 | 13.7% | 13.6% |
| Hansford County, TX | 45 | 11.1% | 11.9% |
| Roberts County, TX | 33 | 8.6% | 15.8% |
| Carson County, TX | 28 | 9.5% | 21.9% |
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 Hutchinson County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Hutchinson County's poverty rate was 14.4% in 2024, 139th 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, Hutchinson County ranks 110th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hutchinson 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.
-
Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas
Legal aid
-
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 Hutchinson 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 Hutchinson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.