About one in nine people in Kerr County, Texas, lives below the poverty line
In Kerr County, 11.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 68% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kerr County's score
In Kerr County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 55.8. Jobs are the lowest part, at 35.1. Unemployment averaged 3.6%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 66% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kerr 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, Kerr County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (17.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 55.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.2% · 202432nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.4% · 202457th percentile
- People with a disability16.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- People without health insurance17.3% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,674 · 202441st percentile
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- 47.3 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 rent18.7% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202741st percentile
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- 46.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.9% · August 202540th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.7% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.7% · second quarter of 202655th percentile
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- 38.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.1% · August 202557th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people72.3 · 202520th percentile
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- 35.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202633rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.6% · 2020 to 202436th 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 Kerr 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 Kerr County, 29.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kerr County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kerr County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 23.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Kerr County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.6%; 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 Kerr County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2016 to 2017, reaching 10.0%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kerr County, Texas.
How Kerr County has changed
Kerr County's population had its largest rise, from 27,681 in 1979 to 33,084 in 1984.
Kerr County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 53,900, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 50,247. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kerr County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Kerr County nearly doubled to 19,746, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 17,200. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kerr County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.7% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.7% | 2024 11.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,617 | 2024 $69,674 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Kerr County's history
1856
January 26, 1856 (created) March 1856 (organized). Wikipedia
1861
Union League formed by Unionists from Kerr, Gillespie, and Kendall Counties supporting Abraham Lincoln. Wikipedia
1862
Nueces massacre: 34 conscientious objectors killed by James Duff's forces while attempting to flee to Mexico. Wikipedia
1880
Y O Ranch founded in 1880 by Charles Armand Schreiner, becoming major local industry. Wikipedia
2010
A flash flood in April 2010 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 52,598, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A flash flood in July 2025 did $200 million in property damage and killed 61 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A flash flood in July 2025 killed 45 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A flash flood in July 2025 killed 10 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1978
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kerr County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kerr County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Kerr County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kerr County ranks 5th of the seven; Real County is highest, at 43.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real County, TX | 68 | 15.1% | 43.9% |
| Edwards County, TX | 53 | 19.2% | 32.9% |
| Bandera County, TX | 49 | 11.0% | 27.7% |
| Kimble County, TX | 45 | 15.4% | 31.3% |
| Kerr County, TX | 40 | 11.2% | 23.6% |
| Kendall County, TX | 18 | 6.5% | 13.4% |
| Gillespie County, TX | 18 | 8.2% | 18.5% |
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 Kerr County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Kerr County's poverty rate was 11.2% in 2024, 199th 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, Kerr County ranks 212th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kerr 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.
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 Kerr County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.