Unemployment in Loving County, Texas, is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties
In Loving County, 0.5% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Loving County's score
In Loving County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 74.9. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 5.0. Almost no renters (0.0%, 2020 to 2024) pay half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Loving 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, Loving County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (72.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit scorenot published for this county; scored at the state median77th percentile
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- 55.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202586th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202524th percentile
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- 31.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year0.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not workingnot published for this county; scored at the state median · 2020 to 202457th percentile
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- 23.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line6.3% · 20245th or lower percentile
- Children below the poverty line6.7% · 20245th or lower percentile
- People with a disability72.7% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance0.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$128,055 · 20245th or lower percentile
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- 5.0 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 rent0.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income10.1% · fiscal year 20275th or lower 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 Loving 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 Loving County, 81.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Loving County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Loving County, pay from work still brings in more than ten times as much as benefit checks, and benefit checks' share of income is smaller than in 1969
In Loving County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income fell by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 6.7%; 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 Loving County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 7.4%
Low on the chart: 0.0% 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, Loving County, Texas.
How Loving County has changed
Loving County's population had its largest drop, from 157 in 1969 to 113 in 1974.
Loving County's population fell by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 48, with its low point on the chart in 2014
Low on the chart: 43 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Loving County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Loving County grew to more than thirty times its 1990 size, reaching 953, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 953. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Loving County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 0.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1993 5.4% | 2024 6.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,482 | 2024 $128,055 |
The table uses 0.7% for 2025; the score uses 0.5% 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 Loving County's history
1887
Loving County was created in 1887 by House Bill No. 113. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 285. The 2020 Census counted 64, 22% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1998
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Loving County. FEMA
Loving County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Loving County, in Texas and New Mexico, score higher than it does. Of the group, Loving County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Lea County gets the largest, at 19.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lea County, NM | 73 | 15.7% | 19.0% |
| Reeves County, TX | 71 | 16.8% | 15.5% |
| Ward County, TX | 70 | 13.6% | 15.7% |
| Eddy County, NM | 55 | 15.1% | 16.6% |
| Winkler County, TX | 43 | 14.3% | 15.1% |
| Loving County, TX | 28 | 6.3% | 6.7% |
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 Loving County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Loving County's poverty rate was 6.3% in 2024, 250th 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, Loving County ranks 236th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Loving 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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Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas
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 Loving 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 Loving County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.