About two in five people with a credit file in Lamb County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Lamb County, 41.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lamb County's score
In Lamb County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 85.2. About three in five people (57.6%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 93% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 73.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lamb 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.
Lamb County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (55.1, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.4% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.2% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.6% · second quarter of 202693rd percentile
-
- 73.3 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 line24.3% · 202480th percentile
- People with a disability14.5% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- People without health insurance25.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,537 · 202479th percentile
-
- 53.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.9% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people55.1 · 202511th percentile
-
- 48.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202632nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.0% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
-
- 35.5 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 rent10.1% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.5% · fiscal year 202758th 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 Lamb 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 Lamb County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lamb County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lamb County had its largest rise, from 22.6% in 2004 to 29.8% in 2009.
In Lamb County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Lamb County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lamb County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.3% in 2015 to 15.6% in 2016.
The share of households in Lamb County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 12.2% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lamb County, Texas.
How Lamb County has changed
Lamb County's population fell by about a third to 12,687, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 15,488. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lamb County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Lamb County fell most sharply on the way to its 2015 low, from 4,447 in 2010 to 3,849 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Lamb County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 5,029 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lamb County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.4% | 2024 17.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,953 | 2024 $56,537 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Lamb County's history
1876
Created in 1876 from portions of Bexar County, not organized until 1908. Wikipedia
1957
A tornado in April 1957 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1957
A tornado in April 1957 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1957
A tornado in April 1957 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 21,896. The 2020 Census counted 13,045, 60% of the peak. Census Bureau
1960
Water table decline in Lamb County beginning in 1960s. Wikipedia
2015
American Cotton Growers denim mill in Littlefield closed in 2015. Wikipedia
2017
Hail in June 2017 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1970
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lamb County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lamb County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Lamb County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lamb County ranks 3rd of the six; Hale County is highest, at 29.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hale County, TX | 87 | 18.6% | 29.0% |
| Hockley County, TX | 71 | 15.8% | 27.2% |
| Lamb County, TX | 64 | 17.2% | 23.0% |
| Bailey County, TX | 57 | 15.6% | 20.5% |
| Castro County, TX | 47 | 16.7% | 11.8% |
| Parmer County, TX | 40 | 12.7% | 12.9% |
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 Lamb County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Lamb 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, Lamb County ranks 134th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lamb 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.
-
Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas
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.
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 Lamb County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.