About one in three people with a credit file in Jackson County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Jackson County, 32.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 79% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jackson County's score
In Jackson County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 80.1. About half of people (50.4%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 80% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 72.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jackson 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.
Jackson County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (65.7, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.4% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
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- 72.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202664th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.6% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
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- 62.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.3% · 202459th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.3% · 202465th percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance16.8% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,156 · 202445th percentile
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- 48.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.2% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people65.7 · 202517th percentile
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- 33.4 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 rent13.2% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.1% · fiscal year 202743rd 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 Jackson 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 Jackson County, 19.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jackson County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jackson County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 26.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Jackson County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Jackson County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 18.3%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2017 to 2018, reaching 12.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Jackson County, Texas.
How Jackson County has changed
Jackson County's population had its largest drop, from 14,027 in 1984 to 13,143 in 1989.
Jackson County's population rose 16% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
High on the chart: 15,284 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jackson County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Jackson County had its largest rise, from 3,070 in 1990 to 5,078 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Jackson County doubled from 1990 to 2020, reaching 5,762, then turned down in 2025
High on the chart: 5,762 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jackson County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.2% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.5% | 2024 14.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,845 | 2024 $68,156 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Jackson County's history
1835
Created in 1835 as municipality in Mexico, organized as county in 1836. Wikipedia
1906
Jackson County Progress newspaper building and business district destroyed in fire. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 14,988, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jackson County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jackson County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Jackson County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Jackson County ranks 5th of the seven; Matagorda County is highest, at 28.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matagorda County, TX | 85 | 14.8% | 28.6% |
| Victoria County, TX | 82 | 14.3% | 24.0% |
| Jackson County, TX | 65 | 14.3% | 26.6% |
| Wharton County, TX | 64 | 14.6% | 27.0% |
| Colorado County, TX | 50 | 13.4% | 27.0% |
| Calhoun County, TX | 44 | 14.5% | 26.8% |
| Lavaca County, TX | 19 | 12.4% | 25.6% |
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 Jackson County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Jackson County's poverty rate was 14.3% in 2024, 141st 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, Jackson County ranks 132nd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jackson 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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Texas RioGrande 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 Jackson 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 Jackson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.