Orange County, Texas
Above the national median for unemployment — and 4.9× the rate of the healthiest U.S. county (Loving County, TX — 1%).
Main Findings
Orange County, Texas ranks 429th most distressed in the United States on the County Distress Index. The driver: 5% of the labor force is unemployed — above the national median of 4%. Its highest-scoring domain is Labor.
- 429th of 3,144 counties on the County Distress Index — 71.5 · high county distress, 44th in Texas.
- 5% of the labor force is unemployed (U.S. median 4%). Unemployment at the 84th percentile nationally. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026).
- Debt in collections at 37% — national median 23%, ranked at the 90th percentile. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
- Subprime credit share at 33% — national median 23%, ranked at the 82nd percentile. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Equifax (2025).
- Severe rent burden (50%+) at 25% — national median 18%, ranked at the 88th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023).
Neighbors span four CDI score labels. The 28-point drop to Cameron Parish, LA marks a cross-border distress gradient.
"Orange County has a high county distress score. The score label gives the intensity; the rank gives the national position."
"The CDI gives this county a high county distress label. The rank belongs beside the score because the two answer different questions: score intensity and national position. Its highest-scoring domain is Labor."
Indicator History
Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.
Unemployment rate
Poverty rate
Transfer income share
Subprime credit population
The Indicators Behind Orange County's CDI Score
Every number traces to a public source. Orange County's value shown alongside TX's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.
| Indicator | Orange | TX median | U.S. median | Pctile | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delinquency — domain score 74 · Rank 726 of 3,144 | |||||
| Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due | 6% | 7% | 5% | 68th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due | 7% | 7% | 5% | 71st | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 | 33% | 32% | 23% | 82nd | Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Equifax (2025) |
| Default & Legal — domain score 75 · Rank 579 of 3,144 | |||||
| Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections | 37% | 35% | 23% | 90th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents | 152 | 78 | 126 | 60th | Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025) |
| Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 64 · Rank 958 of 3,144 | |||||
| Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income | 20% | 22% | 21% | 40th | HUD FMR (FY2026); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023) |
| Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent | 25% | 17% | 18% | 88th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023) |
| Labor — domain score 84 · Rank 477 of 3,144 | |||||
| Unemployment Share of labor force unemployed | 5% | 4% | 4% | 84th | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026) |
| Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 61 · Rank 1,139 of 3,144 | |||||
| Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line | 19% | 22% | 18% | 58th | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023) |
| Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability | 17% | 16% | 16% | 59th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023) |
| Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line | 14% | 15% | 14% | 58th | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023) |
| Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage | 16% | 17% | 8% | 91st | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023) |
Five-Domain Breakdown
The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.
Methodology
The County Distress Index is a 0–100 composite score of household financial distress, computed for all 3,144 U.S. counties. Higher scores indicate greater distress. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the CDI score is the equal-weight mean of those domain scores.
Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), FRED/Equifax (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), U.S. Courts Administrative Office (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and HUD Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2022 to 2026 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.
For Press & Research
Everything you need to cite Orange County data — in under 60 seconds.
Draft wire copy 142-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
ORANGE, Texas — Orange County ranks 429th among the nation's most financially distressed counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.
The composite score of 71.5 out of 100 gives Orange a high county distress label. Among 3,144 U.S. counties scored, 428 counties rank more distressed. Within Texas, Orange ranks 44th of 254 counties.
The index, which draws on 13 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, identifies labor as the primary driver in Orange. 5% of the labor force is unemployed — above the national median of 4%.
"Orange County has a high county distress score. The score label gives the intensity; the rank gives the national position," said Ross Kilburn, founder of American Default Research.
Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Orange County's CDI score, and what does it mean?
What drives Orange County's distress score?
How does Orange County compare to its neighbors?
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
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