About two in five people with a credit file in San Patricio County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In San Patricio County, 40.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives San Patricio County's score
In San Patricio County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 79.1. About one in two people (54.0%, Q2 2026) has a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 87% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 78.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in San Patricio 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.
San Patricio County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (79.3, 2025) and median household income ($69,930, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.4% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.0% · second quarter of 202687th percentile
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- 78.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202684th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.7% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
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- 66.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.3% · 202459th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.3% · 202465th percentile
- People with a disability18.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- People without health insurance18.7% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,930 · 202441st percentile
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- 62.4 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 rent17.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.4% · fiscal year 202780th percentile
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- 60.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector40.9% · August 202595th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people79.3 · 202525th 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 San Patricio 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 San Patricio County, 15.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
San Patricio County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In San Patricio County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 26.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In San Patricio County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in San Patricio County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.8% in 2022 to 15.0% in 2023.
The share of households in San Patricio County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2021 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 11.1% 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, San Patricio County, Texas.
How San Patricio County has changed
San Patricio County's population rose by about half to 71,467, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 56,213. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, San Patricio County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in San Patricio County had its largest rise in the last span, from 18,527 in 2020 to 21,467 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in San Patricio County nearly doubled to 21,467, the highest on the chart
High on the chart: 21,467 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, San Patricio County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.0% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.9% | 2024 14.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,224 | 2024 $69,930 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 5.2% 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 San Patricio County's history
1980
A tornado in August 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flood in July 2010 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flash flood in September 2010 did $3.03 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A flash flood in April 2012 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 68,755, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered San Patricio County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
San Patricio County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border San Patricio County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, San Patricio County ranks 5th of the seven; Jim Wells County is highest, at 36.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Wells County, TX | 95 | 22.8% | 36.3% |
| Bee County, TX | 88 | 24.2% | 32.7% |
| Refugio County, TX | 84 | 15.2% | 32.1% |
| Nueces County, TX | 84 | 15.3% | 24.0% |
| San Patricio County, TX | 82 | 14.3% | 26.6% |
| Live Oak County, TX | 80 | 18.0% | 24.2% |
| Aransas County, TX | 78 | 14.3% | 27.2% |
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 San Patricio County the poorest county in Texas?
No, San Patricio County's poverty rate was 14.3% in 2024, 141st 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, San Patricio County ranks 52nd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in San Patricio 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.
Download the CSV for San Patricio 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 San Patricio County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.