In Sabine County, Texas, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2009
In 2024, 48 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sabine County's score
In Sabine County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 83.3. About one in four people (26.2%, 2020 to 2024) has a disability, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 64.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sabine 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.
Sabine County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.5%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (15.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.9% · 202470th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.5% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability26.2% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance12.8% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,457 · 202481st percentile
-
- 64.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.8% · August 202587th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people108.8 · 202540th percentile
-
- 57.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
-
- 54.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.8% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.9% · second quarter of 202674th percentile
-
- 41.9 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 rent10.5% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.9% · fiscal year 202770th percentile
-
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 Sabine 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 Sabine County, 30.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sabine County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Sabine County, benefit checks have brought in more than pay since 2009
In Sabine County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 47.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sabine County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.1% in 2019 to 13.7% in 2020.
The share of households in Sabine County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2015, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 9.2% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sabine County, Texas.
How Sabine County has changed
Sabine County's population had its largest rise, from 8,513 in 1979 to 9,468 in 1984.
Sabine County's population rose 45% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 10,721 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sabine County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Sabine County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 2,442, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 2,520 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sabine County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.1% | 2025 6.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.9% | 2024 15.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,143 | 2024 $55,457 |
The table uses 6.3% for 2025; the score uses 6.8% 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 Sabine County's history
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 12,299. The 2020 Census counted 9,894, 80% of the peak. Census Bureau
1930
From 1930 to 1970, population declined as African Americans left for Northern industrial cities. Wikipedia
1998
A thunderstorm in February 1998 did $16 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in March 2008 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A tornado in February 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A thunderstorm in May 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1973
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sabine County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sabine County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Sabine County, in Texas and Louisiana, score higher than it does. Of the group, Sabine County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (47.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Augustine County, TX | 92 | 20.4% | 39.7% |
| Sabine Parish, LA | 86 | 21.0% | 34.8% |
| Shelby County, TX | 83 | 16.2% | 23.9% |
| Newton County, TX | 81 | 17.5% | 34.6% |
| Jasper County, TX | 79 | 15.9% | 34.0% |
| Sabine County, TX | 67 | 15.9% | 47.7% |
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 Sabine County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Sabine County's poverty rate was 15.9% in 2024, 93rd 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, Sabine County ranks 119th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sabine 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.
-
Lone Star Legal Aid
Legal aid
-
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 Sabine 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 Sabine County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.