About two in five people with a credit file in Lamar County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Lamar County, 39.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lamar County's score
In Lamar County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 78.5. About one in two people (53.3%, Q2 2026) has a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 86% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 77.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lamar 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.
Lamar County does better than most counties on one measure: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (60.6, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.3% · second quarter of 202686th percentile
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- 77.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.2% · 202476th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.6% · 202477th percentile
- People with a disability17.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- People without health insurance19.3% · 2020 to 202496th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,226 · 202472nd percentile
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- 72.5 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 rent26.8% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.0% · fiscal year 202753rd percentile
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- 63.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202671st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
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- 54.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.7% · August 202593rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people60.6 · 202514th 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 Lamar 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 Lamar County, 19.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lamar County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lamar County rose most from 19.4% in 1999 to 28.6% in 2009, 4.6 points each step.
In Lamar County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 31.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Lamar County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lamar County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.9% in 2017 to 15.8% in 2018.
The share of households in Lamar County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 11.9% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lamar County, Texas.
How Lamar County has changed
Lamar County's population rose by about half to 51,249, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 38,495. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lamar County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lamar County rose by about a third to 22,227, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 18,716. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lamar County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.0% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.2% | 2024 17.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,495 | 2024 $59,226 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Lamar County's history
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 55,742. The 2020 Census counted 50,088, 90% of the peak. Census Bureau
1957
A tornado in April 1957 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1981
A tornado in May 1981 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in April 1982 did $25 million in property damage and killed 10 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2022
A tornado in November 2022 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lamar County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lamar County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Lamar County, in Texas and Oklahoma, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lamar County ranks 3rd of the six; Choctaw County is highest, at 41.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choctaw County, OK | 89 | 26.4% | 41.6% |
| Red River County, TX | 86 | 15.0% | 39.3% |
| Lamar County, TX | 82 | 17.2% | 31.3% |
| Bryan County, OK | 75 | 14.2% | 29.9% |
| Fannin County, TX | 66 | 12.8% | 28.9% |
| Delta County, TX | 56 | 14.6% | 31.3% |
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 Lamar County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Lamar County's poverty rate was 17.2% in 2024, 70th 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, Lamar County ranks 54th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lamar 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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Lone Star 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 Lamar County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.