Benefit checks make up 34 cents of every dollar of income in Rains County, Texas
In Rains County, 33.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 79% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rains County's score
In Rains County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 64.8. People with a car or retail loan behind: 6.8%, August 2025, higher than in 70% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 62.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rains 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.
Rains County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (7.7%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (69.3, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 64.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.2% · second quarter of 202664th percentile
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- 62.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202658th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.5% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
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- 62.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.2% · 202432nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.9% · 202459th percentile
- People with a disability18.8% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- People without health insurance17.5% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,146 · 202451st percentile
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- 49.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.1% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people69.3 · 202518th percentile
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- 16.6 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 rent7.7% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.4% · fiscal year 202725th 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 Rains 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 Rains County, 24.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rains County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Rains County had its largest rise, from 16.0% in 1989 to 22.5% in 1994.
In Rains County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 33.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Rains County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Rains County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.8% in 2012 to 10.4% in 2013.
The share of households in Rains County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen to 11.2%
Low on the chart: 5.7% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Rains County, Texas.
How Rains County has changed
Rains County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size, reaching 13,306, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 8,934. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rains County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Rains County more than doubled to 2,259, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 1,758. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rains County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.2% | 2024 11.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,685 | 2024 $66,146 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Rains County's history
1870
Founded June 9, 1870. Wikipedia
1993
A tornado in October 1993 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 12,164, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1966
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rains County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rains County beside its neighbors
All four counties that border Rains County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rains County ranks 2nd of the five; Wood County is highest, at 36.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood County, TX | 78 | 13.7% | 36.4% |
| Hunt County, TX | 78 | 11.1% | 22.7% |
| Van Zandt County, TX | 66 | 13.0% | 27.6% |
| Hopkins County, TX | 59 | 13.4% | 24.0% |
| Rains County, TX | 51 | 11.2% | 33.9% |
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 Rains County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Rains County's poverty rate was 11.2% in 2024, 199th 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, Rains County ranks 175th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rains 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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Lone Star 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 Rains County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.