About two in five people with a credit file in Mitchell County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Mitchell County, 39.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mitchell County's score
In Mitchell County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 78.0. Late payments on loans come next, at 64.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mitchell 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.
Mitchell County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (22, 2025) and people with a credit card behind (2.5%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.1% · 202492nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.4% · 202480th percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance17.5% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,370 · 202472nd percentile
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- 64.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.5% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.0% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score55.9% · second quarter of 202690th percentile
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- 57.8 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 rent17.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.6% · fiscal year 202768th percentile
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- 49.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.3% · August 202593rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people22 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 39.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202621st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not workingnot published for this county; scored at the state median · 2020 to 202457th 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 Mitchell 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 Mitchell County, 14.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mitchell County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Mitchell County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 29.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Mitchell County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Mitchell County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.9% in 2022 to 14.8% in 2023.
The share of households in Mitchell County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 6.9% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Mitchell County, Texas.
How Mitchell County has changed
Mitchell County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1999 high, from 8,686 in 1994 to 9,822 in 1999.
Mitchell County's population fell 5% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 9,822 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mitchell County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Mitchell County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 2,260 in 2015 to 1,933 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Mitchell County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 2,409 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mitchell County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.8% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.7% | 2024 22.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,732 | 2024 $59,370 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Mitchell County's history
1876
The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1881. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 14,357. The 2020 Census counted 8,990, 63% of the peak. Census Bureau
1969
Oil refinery in Colorado City operated 1924, closed 1969. Wikipedia
2017
A thunderstorm in June 2017 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A thunderstorm in June 2020 did $7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1993
13 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mitchell County. FEMA
Mitchell County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Mitchell County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Mitchell County ranks 2nd of the seven; Coke County is highest, at 33.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nolan County, TX | 84 | 19.7% | 27.9% |
| Howard County, TX | 64 | 15.4% | 19.2% |
| Mitchell County, TX | 62 | 22.1% | 29.7% |
| Scurry County, TX | 60 | 15.1% | 23.3% |
| Coke County, TX | 50 | 15.0% | 33.1% |
| Sterling County, TX | 49 | 10.8% | 16.4% |
| Borden County, TX | 34 | 10.2% | 6.3% |
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 Mitchell County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Mitchell County's poverty rate was 22.1% in 2024, 20th 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, Mitchell County ranks 145th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mitchell 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 Mitchell 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 Mitchell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.