About two in five people with a credit file in Karnes County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Karnes County, 41.4% 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 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Karnes County's score
In Karnes County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 85.1. About three in five people (56.7%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 92% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 76.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Karnes 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.
Karnes County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (40, 2025) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.0%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.6% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.9% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.7% · second quarter of 202692nd percentile
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- 76.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.4% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.5% · 202477th percentile
- People with a disability20.6% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance15.8% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,534 · 202444th percentile
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- 56.4 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 rent21.6% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.0% · fiscal year 202742nd percentile
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- 51.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202657th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.9% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
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- 50.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.4% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people40 · 20255th 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 Karnes 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 Karnes County, 15.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Karnes County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Karnes County had its largest drop, from 32.5% in 2009 to 19.6% in 2014.
In Karnes County, pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks, with little change in benefit checks' share since 1969
In Karnes County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Karnes County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2019 low, from 15.0% in 2018 to 10.9% in 2019.
The share of households in Karnes County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 21.1%
Low on the chart: 10.9% 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, Karnes County, Texas.
How Karnes County has changed
Karnes County's population rose 12% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1994 and 1999
High on the chart: 15,468 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Karnes County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Karnes County had its largest rise, from 3,716 in 2010 to 5,840 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Karnes County doubled from 1990 to 2020, reaching 6,347, then turned down in 2025
High on the chart: 6,347 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Karnes County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.7% | 2024 19.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,649 | 2024 $68,534 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Karnes County's history
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 23,316. The 2020 Census counted 14,710, 63% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Karnes County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Karnes County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Karnes County, three score higher. Of the group, Karnes County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Bee County gets the largest, at 32.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bee County, TX | 88 | 24.2% | 32.7% |
| Atascosa County, TX | 82 | 15.9% | 25.7% |
| Live Oak County, TX | 80 | 18.0% | 24.2% |
| DeWitt County, TX | 73 | 18.5% | 21.8% |
| Karnes County, TX | 73 | 19.4% | 16.2% |
| Goliad County, TX | 63 | 15.4% | 25.2% |
| Gonzales County, TX | 61 | 18.0% | 21.2% |
| Wilson County, TX | 42 | 9.3% | 21.3% |
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 Karnes County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Karnes County's poverty rate was 19.4% in 2024, 43rd 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, Karnes County ranks 94th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Karnes 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 Karnes 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 Karnes County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.