About one in two people with a credit file in Pecos County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Pecos County, 46.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pecos County's score
In Pecos County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 94.0. People with a credit card behind: 11.7%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 64.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pecos 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.
Pecos County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (20.5, 2025) and people with a disability (10.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind11.7% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.6% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.3% · second quarter of 202693rd percentile
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- 64.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202664th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.0% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
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- 60.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.3% · 202477th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.2% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability10.4% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- People without health insurance16.5% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,808 · 202455th percentile
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- 50.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector46.2% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people20.5 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 28.2 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 rent10.8% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.0% · fiscal year 202742nd 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 Pecos 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 Pecos County, 13.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pecos County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pecos County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 24.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Pecos County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 24.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pecos County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.4% in 2019 to 11.8% in 2020.
The share of households in Pecos County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2018, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 7.3% 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, Pecos County, Texas.
How Pecos County has changed
Pecos County's population had its largest rise, from 14,177 in 1979 to 16,969 in 1984.
Pecos County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 17,007 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pecos County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Pecos County rose most sharply after its 2005 low, from 4,487 in 2005 to 6,004 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Pecos County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 6,084 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pecos County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.9% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.7% | 2024 17.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,425 | 2024 $64,808 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Pecos County's history
1871
Created in 1871, organized in 1875. Wikipedia
1926
Yates Oil Field opened 1926 near Fort Stockton, brought economic boom. Wikipedia
1990
A tornado in April 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in June 1990 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1994
Hail in April 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
Hail in June 1995 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 16,809. The 2020 Census counted 15,193, 90% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1989
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pecos County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pecos County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Pecos County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pecos County ranks 3rd of the eight; Terrell County is highest, at 26.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reeves County, TX | 71 | 16.8% | 15.5% |
| Ward County, TX | 70 | 13.6% | 15.7% |
| Terrell County, TX | 67 | 18.7% | 26.9% |
| Pecos County, TX | 65 | 17.3% | 24.4% |
| Jeff Davis County, TX | 63 | 12.8% | 25.2% |
| Crane County, TX | 39 | 11.4% | 16.9% |
| Crockett County, TX | 33 | 14.7% | 23.8% |
| Brewster County, TX | 25 | 15.1% | 20.6% |
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 Pecos County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Pecos County's poverty rate was 17.3% in 2024, 68th 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, Pecos County ranks 131st of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pecos 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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Texas RioGrande Legal Aid
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.
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 Pecos County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.