About two in five people with a credit file in Orange County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Orange County, 37.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Orange County's score
In Orange County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 75.1. Jobs come next, at 74.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Orange 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.
Orange County does better than most counties on two measures: median household income ($72,841, 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.1%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.1% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people151.7 · 202560th percentile
-
- 74.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202680th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.9% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
-
- 73.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.5% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.6% · second quarter of 202681st percentile
-
- 65.6 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 rent25.5% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.1% · fiscal year 202742nd percentile
-
- 57.4 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 line18.1% · 202455th percentile
- People with a disability16.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- People without health insurance14.9% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,841 · 202433rd 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 Orange 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 Orange County, 16.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Orange County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Orange County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 26.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Orange County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 26.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Orange County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 15.7% in 2018 to 13.9% in 2019.
The share of households in Orange County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 13.7%
Low on the chart: 13.4% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Orange County, Texas.
How Orange County has changed
Orange County's population rose by about a fifth to 86,115, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 82,676. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Orange County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Orange County rose 10% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 25,407 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Orange County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.0% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 13.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,216 | 2024 $72,841 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Orange County's history
1852
Formed in 1852 from portions of Jefferson County. Wikipedia
1957
A tornado in November 1957 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 84,966. The 2020 Census counted 84,808, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
2009
A thunderstorm in July 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flash flood in August 2017 did $1.5 billion in property damage and killed 10 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flash flood in September 2019 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1973
31 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Orange County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Orange County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Orange County, in Texas and Louisiana, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Orange County ranks 4th of the seven; Newton County is highest, at 34.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, TX | 94 | 21.3% | 26.6% |
| Calcasieu Parish, LA | 86 | 15.5% | 23.8% |
| Orange County, TX | 82 | 13.8% | 26.4% |
| Newton County, TX | 81 | 17.5% | 34.6% |
| Jasper County, TX | 79 | 15.9% | 34.0% |
| Hardin County, TX | 60 | 10.8% | 24.1% |
| Cameron Parish, LA | 38 | 12.9% | 16.0% |
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 Orange County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Orange 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, Orange County ranks 55th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Orange 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.
-
Lone Star Legal Aid
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 Orange 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 Orange County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.