About one in three people with a credit file in Leon County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Leon County, 34.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 85% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Leon County's score
In Leon County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 75.5. People with a credit card behind: 7.5%, August 2025, higher than in 79% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 71.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Leon 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.
Leon County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (48.4, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.6% · second quarter of 202673rd percentile
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- 71.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.2% · 202458th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.9% · 202464th percentile
- People with a disability20.4% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- People without health insurance17.2% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,146 · 202457th percentile
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- 50.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202646th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
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- 47.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.7% · August 202585th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people48.4 · 20258th percentile
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- 30.1 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 rent14.5% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.0% · fiscal year 202731st 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 Leon 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 Leon County, 24.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Leon County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Leon County had its largest rise, from 26.2% in 2014 to 31.9% in 2019.
In Leon County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by about half since 1969, reaching 29.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Leon County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Leon County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.3% in 2021 to 7.2% in 2022.
The share of households in Leon County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 8.2%, with its low point on the chart in 2022
Low on the chart: 7.2% 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, Leon County, Texas.
How Leon County has changed
Leon County's population had its largest rise, from 9,264 in 1979 to 12,238 in 1984.
Leon County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16,698
High on the chart: 16,862 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Leon County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Leon County more than doubled to 6,189, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 6,189. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Leon County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.8% | 2024 14.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,747 | 2024 $64,146 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Leon County's history
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 19,898. The 2020 Census counted 15,719, 79% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in February 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1987
A tornado in November 1987 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A thunderstorm in June 2023 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Leon County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Leon County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Leon County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Leon County ranks 4th of the seven; Houston County is highest, at 32.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson County, TX | 86 | 20.0% | 28.2% |
| Houston County, TX | 86 | 19.3% | 32.4% |
| Limestone County, TX | 80 | 14.8% | 32.4% |
| Robertson County, TX | 78 | 15.7% | 26.4% |
| Freestone County, TX | 64 | 12.7% | 28.1% |
| Madison County, TX | 64 | 15.8% | 29.4% |
| Leon County, TX | 57 | 14.2% | 29.0% |
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 Leon County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Leon County's poverty rate was 14.2% in 2024, 147th 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, Leon County ranks 155th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Leon 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 Leon County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.