Benefit checks make up 41 cents of every dollar of income in Knox County, Texas
In Knox County, 40.6% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 53% of U.S. counties.
What drives Knox County's score
In Knox County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 83.7. Late payments on loans come next, at 64.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Knox 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.
Knox County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (4.3%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (60.6, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.0% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.1% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability17.5% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- People without health insurance17.7% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,113 · 202488th percentile
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- 64.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202535th 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 score51.8% · second quarter of 202683rd percentile
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- 43.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.1% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people60.6 · 202514th percentile
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- 39.4 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 rent4.3% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.4% · fiscal year 202773rd percentile
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- 31.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202626th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.5% · 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 Knox 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 Knox County, 18.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Knox County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Knox County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 40.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Knox County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 40.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Knox County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 9.6% in 2023 to 14.0% in 2024.
The share of households in Knox County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 14.0%, with its low point on the chart in 2021
Low on the chart: 9.5% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Knox County, Texas.
How Knox County has changed
Knox County's population fell by about half to 3,255, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 4,806. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Knox County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Knox County had its largest rise, from 1,278 in 1990 to 1,495 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Knox County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 1,495 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Knox County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.5% | 2024 19.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,571 | 2024 $52,113 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Knox County's history
1858
Created in 1858, organized in 1886. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 11,368. The 2020 Census counted 3,353, 29% of the peak. Census Bureau
1938
Knox County courthouse and school building constructed with Works Projects Administration labor in 1938 and 1942. Wikipedia
1953
A tornado in March 1953 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1989
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Knox County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Knox County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Knox County, three score higher. Of the group, Knox County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (40.6%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor County, TX | 81 | 16.1% | 29.8% |
| Haskell County, TX | 67 | 22.8% | 37.5% |
| Foard County, TX | 64 | 16.2% | 36.3% |
| Knox County, TX | 53 | 19.0% | 40.6% |
| King County, TX | 29 | 13.5% | 4.1% |
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 Knox County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Knox County's poverty rate was 19.0% in 2024, 47th 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, Knox County ranks 170th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Knox 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 Knox County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.