In Lee County, Texas, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Lee County, 17.5% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lee County's score
In Lee County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 62.0. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 26.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lee 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, Lee County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (16.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 62.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.9% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.0% · second quarter of 202656th percentile
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- 57.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202643rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
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- 45.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.0% · 202430th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.4% · 202440th percentile
- People with a disability15.0% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- People without health insurance16.1% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$79,291 · 202421st percentile
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- 37.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.5% · August 202565th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people49.3 · 20259th percentile
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- 26.7 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 rent15.8% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.5% · fiscal year 202717th 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 Lee 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 Lee County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lee County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lee County had its largest rise, from 17.8% in 2004 to 21.1% in 2009.
In Lee County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 22.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Lee County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.5% in 2020 to 12.9% in 2021.
The share of households in Lee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen to 11.9%
Low on the chart: 5.9% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lee County, Texas.
How Lee County has changed
Lee County's population more than doubled to 18,451, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 13,939. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lee County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lee County doubled to 8,011, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 7,020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lee County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 11.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,640 | 2024 $79,291 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Lee County's history
1874
Founded in 1874. Wikipedia
1980
Oil boom in Giddings early 1980s, declined almost to standstill by late 1980s. Wikipedia
1987
A tornado in November 1987 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A flash flood in March 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in May 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 17,478, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1987
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lee County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lee County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Lee County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lee County ranks 5th of the seven; Milam County is highest, at 30.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milam County, TX | 61 | 13.8% | 30.8% |
| Bastrop County, TX | 54 | 9.6% | 19.7% |
| Burleson County, TX | 46 | 13.7% | 24.3% |
| Lee County, TX | 42 | 11.0% | 22.0% |
| Washington County, TX | 39 | 12.4% | 22.8% |
| Fayette County, TX | 32 | 10.2% | 23.0% |
| Williamson County, TX | 23 | 5.4% | 10.7% |
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 Lee County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Lee County's poverty rate was 11.0% in 2024, 209th 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, Lee County ranks 205th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lee 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 Lee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.