About one in three people in Kenedy County, Texas, has a disability
In Kenedy County, 32.4% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kenedy County's score
In Kenedy County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 92.8. Rent on a two-bedroom takes 28.2% of the typical household's income (fiscal year 2027), higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 90.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kenedy 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.
Kenedy County does better than most counties on one measure: children below the poverty line (15.1%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.8 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent26.9% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.2% · fiscal year 202793rd percentile
-
- 90.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.8% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
-
- 80.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2006
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score71.4% · second quarter of 2006top 5%
-
- 78.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.5% · 202467th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.1% · 202439th percentile
- People with a disability32.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance24.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,960 · 2024top 5%
-
- 55.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202586th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202524th 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 Kenedy 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 Kenedy County, 39.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kenedy County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kenedy County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about seven times its 1969 level, reaching 18.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Kenedy County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about seven times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 18.3%; 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 Kenedy County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 1.8%
Low on the chart: 0.0% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kenedy County, Texas.
How Kenedy County has changed
Kenedy County's population had its largest drop, from 492 in 1989 to 413 in 1994.
Kenedy County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1974 and has since fallen by about half
High on the chart: 626 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kenedy County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Kenedy County had its largest drop, from 656 in 2015 to 407 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Kenedy County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 63% since
High on the chart: 656 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kenedy County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.9% | 2025 8.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 36.6% | 2024 15.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,029 | 2024 $46,960 |
The table uses 8.2% for 2025; the score uses 7.7% 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 Kenedy County's history
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 1,033. The 2020 Census counted 350, 34% of the peak. Census Bureau
1921
Created in 1921 from parts of Hidalgo and Willacy counties. Wikipedia
-
Since 1967
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kenedy County. FEMA
Kenedy County beside its neighbors
Kenedy County scores higher than all four counties that border it. Of the group, Kenedy County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Brooks County gets the largest, at 46.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenedy County, TX | 94 | 15.5% | 18.3% |
| Hidalgo County, TX | 91 | 24.2% | 31.6% |
| Brooks County, TX | 90 | 30.6% | 46.9% |
| Kleberg County, TX | 89 | 21.4% | 28.0% |
| Willacy County, TX | 88 | 24.2% | 44.0% |
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 Kenedy County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Kenedy County's poverty rate was 15.5% in 2024, 104th 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, Kenedy County ranks 5th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kenedy 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.
-
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
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 Kenedy 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 Kenedy County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.