About one in three people with a credit file in Milam County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Milam County, 34.9% 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 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Milam County's score
In Milam County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 76.4. People with a credit card behind: 7.3%, August 2025, higher than in 77% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 59.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Milam 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.
Milam County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (69.4, 2025) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.6%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.3% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.3% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.1% · second quarter of 202674th percentile
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- 59.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
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- 58.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.8% · 202455th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.9% · 202464th percentile
- People with a disability15.9% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- People without health insurance15.7% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,798 · 202433rd percentile
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- 52.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.9% · August 202586th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people69.4 · 202518th percentile
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- 38.5 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 rent18.1% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.6% · fiscal year 202727th 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 Milam 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 Milam County, 21.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Milam County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Milam County had its largest rise, from 26.2% in 2004 to 31.3% in 2009.
In Milam County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 30.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Milam County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.8%; 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 Milam County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2016 to 2017, reaching 16.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Milam County, Texas.
How Milam County has changed
Milam County's population rose by about a third to 26,159, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 23,872. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Milam County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Milam County had its largest drop, from 6,885 in 2005 to 5,569 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Milam County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 6,885 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Milam County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.2% | 2024 13.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,938 | 2024 $72,798 |
The table uses 4.3% 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 Milam County's history
1834
The county was created in 1834 as a municipality in Mexico and organized as a county in 1837. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 39,666. The 2020 Census counted 24,754, 62% of the peak. Census Bureau
2004
A tornado in June 2004 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in January 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
Lightning in May 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A tornado in May 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1991
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Milam County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Milam County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Milam County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Milam County ranks 2nd of the seven; Falls County is highest, at 31.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell County, TX | 78 | 13.8% | 24.0% |
| Robertson County, TX | 78 | 15.7% | 26.4% |
| Falls County, TX | 66 | 18.7% | 31.5% |
| Milam County, TX | 61 | 13.8% | 30.8% |
| Burleson County, TX | 46 | 13.7% | 24.3% |
| Lee County, TX | 42 | 11.0% | 22.0% |
| 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 Milam County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Milam County's poverty rate was 13.8% in 2024, 151st 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, Milam County ranks 147th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Milam 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 Milam County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.