In Parmer County, Texas, benefit checks make up only 13 cents of every dollar of income
In Parmer County, 12.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Parmer County's score
In Parmer County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 69.3. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 30.4. About one in 16 renters (6.1%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Parmer 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, Parmer County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (24.1%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a car or retail loan behind (9.1%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.1% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.4% · second quarter of 202675th percentile
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- 51.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.7% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.8% · 202453rd percentile
- People with a disability12.1% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- People without health insurance24.1% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,598 · 202444th percentile
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- 42.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.9% · August 202578th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people31.2 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 30.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202611th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.8% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
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- 30.4 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 rent6.1% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.2% · fiscal year 202755th 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 Parmer 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 Parmer County, 15.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Parmer County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Parmer County had its largest drop, from 18.6% in 2009 to 12.5% in 2014.
In Parmer County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 12.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about six times as much as benefit checks
In Parmer County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 12.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Parmer County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.9% in 2020 to 5.6% in 2021.
The share of households in Parmer County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 4.9%
Low on the chart: 4.5% 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, Parmer County, Texas.
How Parmer County has changed
Parmer County's population fell 10% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 9,968. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Parmer County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Parmer County had its largest rise in the last span, from 5,895 in 2020 to 6,490 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Parmer County rose by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 6,490, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 4,956. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Parmer County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.8% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.2% | 2024 12.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,478 | 2024 $68,598 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Parmer County's history
1876
Created in 1876, organized in 1907. Wikipedia
1970
A tornado in April 1970 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 11,038. The 2020 Census counted 9,869, 89% of the peak. Census Bureau
1992
A tornado in March 1992 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
A tornado in June 1995 did $24 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Parmer County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Parmer County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Parmer County, in Texas and New Mexico, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Parmer County ranks 5th of the six; Curry County is highest, at 25.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curry County, NM | 78 | 16.8% | 25.4% |
| Deaf Smith County, TX | 70 | 16.8% | 15.5% |
| Lamb County, TX | 64 | 17.2% | 23.0% |
| Bailey County, TX | 57 | 15.6% | 20.5% |
| Castro County, TX | 47 | 16.7% | 11.8% |
| Parmer County, TX | 40 | 12.7% | 12.9% |
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 Parmer County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Parmer County's poverty rate was 12.7% in 2024, 175th 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, Parmer County ranks 211th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Parmer 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 Parmer 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 Parmer County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.