About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Kent County, Texas, have a job
In Kent County, 16.0% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 78% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kent County's score
In Kent County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 80.3. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 26.3. About one in 13 renters (7.8%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kent 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.
Even so, Kent County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (27.4%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a subprime credit score (58.1%, Q2 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- 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 score58.1% · second quarter of 202693rd percentile
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- 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
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- 48.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.9% · 202439th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.9% · 202443rd percentile
- People with a disability27.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance3.8% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,002 · 202457th percentile
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- 36.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202650th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.0% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
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- 26.3 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 rent7.8% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202744th 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 Kent 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 Kent County, 37.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kent County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Kent County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 23.5% in 2004 to 29.9% in 2009.
In Kent County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 29.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Kent County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.0%; 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 Kent County getting SNAP food aid grew to about ten times its 2009 level, reaching 17.2%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2021 to 2022, reaching 13.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kent County, Texas.
How Kent County has changed
Kent County's population fell by about half to 703, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 1,318. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kent County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Kent County rose by about half to 380, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 380. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kent County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.7% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.9% | 2024 11.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,980 | 2024 $64,002 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Kent County's history
1876
Created in 1876, organized in 1892. Wikipedia
1891
Conflict between cattle ranchers and farmers over fencing in 1891. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 3,851. The 2020 Census counted 753, 20% of the peak. Census Bureau
1946
Oil discovered in Kent County in 1946, producing over 448 million barrels through 1991. Wikipedia
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Since 1993
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kent County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kent County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Kent County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kent County ranks 3rd of the six; Dickens County is highest, at 39.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dickens County, TX | 83 | 17.8% | 39.1% |
| Garza County, TX | 70 | 17.2% | 29.4% |
| Scurry County, TX | 60 | 15.1% | 23.3% |
| Stonewall County, TX | 57 | 16.5% | 24.0% |
| Kent County, TX | 48 | 11.9% | 29.0% |
| Fisher County, TX | 46 | 14.9% | 28.9% |
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 Kent County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Kent County's poverty rate was 11.9% in 2024, 190th 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, Kent County ranks 184th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kent 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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Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas
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.
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 Kent County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.