About one in five people in Lampasas County, Texas, has a disability
In Lampasas County, 22.3% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lampasas County's score
In Lampasas County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 73.2. About one in four adults aged 25 to 54 (27.5%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a higher share than in 83% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 66.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lampasas 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.
Lampasas County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (15.8%, fiscal year 2027) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (73.1, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202663rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.5% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 66.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.4% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.3% · second quarter of 202661st percentile
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- 54.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.1% · 202431st percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.2% · 202445th percentile
- People with a disability22.3% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- People without health insurance12.9% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,271 · 202424th percentile
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- 46.3 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 people73.1 · 202521st percentile
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- 17.2 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 rent14.4% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.8% · fiscal year 20276th 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 Lampasas 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 Lampasas County, 21.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lampasas County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lampasas County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 29.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Lampasas County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.1%; 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 Lampasas County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 9.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lampasas County, Texas.
How Lampasas County has changed
Lampasas County's population tripled to 23,539, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 12,661. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lampasas County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lampasas County doubled to 5,803, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 5,803. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lampasas County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.8% | 2024 11.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,250 | 2024 $77,271 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Lampasas County's history
1875
Farmers' Alliance organized in Lampasas in 1875 in reaction to cattle rustling and illegal land dealings. Wikipedia
1942
Fort Hood opened in 1942 as military training base. Wikipedia
1994
A thunderstorm in May 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 21,627, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1991
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lampasas County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lampasas County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Lampasas County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lampasas County ranks 3rd of the seven; Mills County is highest, at 34.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell County, TX | 78 | 13.8% | 24.0% |
| Coryell County, TX | 78 | 14.6% | 28.2% |
| Hamilton County, TX | 57 | 13.7% | 24.2% |
| Lampasas County, TX | 52 | 11.1% | 29.1% |
| San Saba County, TX | 47 | 15.0% | 34.3% |
| Mills County, TX | 32 | 13.6% | 34.9% |
| Burnet County, TX | 30 | 9.2% | 19.9% |
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 Lampasas County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Lampasas County's poverty rate was 11.1% in 2024, 205th 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, Lampasas County ranks 174th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lampasas 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.
Download the CSV for Lampasas County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
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 Lampasas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.