In Ochiltree County, Texas, benefit checks make up only 14 cents of every dollar of income
In Ochiltree County, 14.1% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ochiltree County's score
In Ochiltree County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 51.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 25.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 41.2 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ochiltree 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, Ochiltree County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (25.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 51.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.1% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.6% · second quarter of 202673rd percentile
-
- 49.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.4% · 202434th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.9% · 202443rd percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance25.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$77,359 · 202424th percentile
-
- 38.7 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 rent21.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.7% · fiscal year 20275th percentile
-
- 27.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202622nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.9% · 2020 to 202432nd percentile
-
- 25.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.9% · August 202545th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people41.2 · 20256th percentile
-
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 Ochiltree 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 Ochiltree County, 11.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ochiltree County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Ochiltree County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 14.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Ochiltree County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 14.1%; 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 Ochiltree County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen to 5.0%
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 5.0%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Ochiltree County, Texas.
How Ochiltree County has changed
Ochiltree County's population had its largest rise, from 9,133 in 1979 to 11,036 in 1984.
Ochiltree County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 11,036 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ochiltree County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Ochiltree County had its largest drop, from 5,145 in 2015 to 4,123 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Ochiltree County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 5,145 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ochiltree County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.8% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.7% | 2024 11.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,227 | 2024 $77,359 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Ochiltree County's history
1876
Created in 1876, organized in 1889. Wikipedia
1950
A tornado in May 1950 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1962
A tornado in May 1962 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1987
A tornado in June 1987 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 10,223. The 2020 Census counted 10,015, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2023
A tornado in June 2023 did $1 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1989
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ochiltree County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ochiltree County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Ochiltree County, in Texas and Oklahoma, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Ochiltree County ranks 3rd of the six; Roberts County is highest, at 15.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hansford County, TX | 45 | 11.1% | 11.9% |
| Texas County, OK | 40 | 13.5% | 12.0% |
| Roberts County, TX | 33 | 8.6% | 15.8% |
| Ochiltree County, TX | 29 | 11.4% | 14.1% |
| Lipscomb County, TX | 20 | 13.4% | 9.1% |
| Beaver County, OK | 15 | 12.5% | 15.5% |
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 Ochiltree County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Ochiltree County's poverty rate was 11.4% in 2024, 197th 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, Ochiltree County ranks 234th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ochiltree 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.
-
Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas
Legal aid
-
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 Ochiltree 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 Ochiltree County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.