About one in three people with a credit file in Rusk County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Rusk County, 36.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rusk County's score
In Rusk County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 77.5. About half of people (51.8%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 83% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 66.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rusk 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.
Rusk County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (99.9, 2025) and people with a disability (15.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.8% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.4% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.8% · second quarter of 202683rd percentile
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- 66.9 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 202668th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.3% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
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- 62.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.6% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people99.9 · 202536th percentile
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- 58.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.1% · 202457th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.8% · 202453rd percentile
- People with a disability15.6% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- People without health insurance13.7% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$67,655 · 202447th percentile
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- 53.8 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 rent18.2% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.4% · fiscal year 202757th 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 Rusk 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 Rusk County, 17.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rusk County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Rusk County had its largest rise, from 14.9% in 1989 to 18.8% in 1994.
In Rusk County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 27.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Rusk County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Rusk County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.9% in 2012 to 11.0% in 2013.
The share of households in Rusk County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 11.2%
Low on the chart: 6.5% 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, Rusk County, Texas.
How Rusk County has changed
Rusk County's population nearly doubled to 53,391, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 37,370. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rusk County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Rusk County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 13,308, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 13,885 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rusk County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.1% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.0% | 2024 14.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,790 | 2024 $67,655 |
The table uses 4.4% 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 Rusk County's history
1843
Established as its own county by the Congress of the Republic of Texas on January 16, 1843, from parts of Nacogdoches County. Wikipedia
1930
Oil discovery at Daisy Bradford #3 Well creates boom economy, population increases from 2,000 to 10,000. Wikipedia
1986
A thunderstorm in April 1986 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1986
A thunderstorm in April 1986 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1994
A thunderstorm in November 1994 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in April 2003 did $9 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 53,330. The 2020 Census counted 52,214, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rusk County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rusk County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Rusk County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rusk County ranks 2nd of the eight; Cherokee County is highest, at 31.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nacogdoches County, TX | 90 | 21.9% | 26.7% |
| Gregg County, TX | 86 | 16.1% | 25.7% |
| Shelby County, TX | 83 | 16.2% | 23.9% |
| Harrison County, TX | 75 | 14.5% | 25.0% |
| Cherokee County, TX | 74 | 16.0% | 31.7% |
| Rusk County, TX | 73 | 14.1% | 27.3% |
| Panola County, TX | 65 | 13.3% | 26.1% |
| Smith County, TX | 63 | 12.1% | 18.8% |
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 Rusk County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Rusk County's poverty rate was 14.1% in 2024, 148th 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, Rusk County ranks 96th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rusk 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 Rusk County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.