About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in San Saba County, Texas, have a job
In San Saba County, 17.7% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 68% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives San Saba County's score
In San Saba County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 71.8. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 38.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 34.2 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in San Saba 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.
Even so, San Saba County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (27.0%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a credit card behind (8.1%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 71.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.0% · 202464th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.5% · 202477th percentile
- People with a disability15.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- People without health insurance27.0% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,628 · 202474th percentile
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- 53.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.1% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.9% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.6% · second quarter of 202671st percentile
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- 39.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.7% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
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- 39.3 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 rent5.9% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.3% · fiscal year 202773rd percentile
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- 38.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.1% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people34.2 · 20255th or lower 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 Saba 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 Saba County, 22.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
San Saba County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in San Saba County had its largest rise, from 24.8% in 2004 to 32.0% in 2009.
In San Saba County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 16% more than benefit checks in 2024
In San Saba County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in San Saba County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.8% in 2020 to 9.2% in 2021.
The share of households in San Saba County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a third from 2009 to 2024, reaching 9.5%, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 6.8% in 2020. 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 Saba County, Texas.
How San Saba County has changed
San Saba County's population made its largest gain on the way to its 1994 high, from 5,538 in 1989 to 6,152 in 1994.
San Saba County's population fell 7% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 6,152 in 1994. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, San Saba County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in San Saba County had its largest rise, from 1,711 in 1995 to 2,000 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in San Saba County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 2,000 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, San Saba County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.2% | 2024 15.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,169 | 2024 $58,628 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Saba County's history
1874
Edmund E. Risien's pecan breeding work establishes San Saba as Pecan Capital of the World. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 11,245. The 2020 Census counted 5,730, 51% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1993
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered San Saba County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
San Saba County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border San Saba County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, San Saba County ranks 3rd of the eight; McCulloch County is highest, at 38.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown County, TX | 86 | 16.7% | 33.5% |
| McCulloch County, TX | 80 | 18.2% | 38.8% |
| Lampasas County, TX | 52 | 11.1% | 29.1% |
| San Saba County, TX | 47 | 15.0% | 34.3% |
| Llano County, TX | 32 | 11.8% | 27.1% |
| Mills County, TX | 32 | 13.6% | 34.9% |
| Burnet County, TX | 30 | 9.2% | 19.9% |
| Mason County, TX | 25 | 11.2% | 28.4% |
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 Saba County the poorest county in Texas?
No, San Saba County's poverty rate was 15.0% in 2024, 115th 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 Saba County ranks 190th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in San Saba 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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Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas
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 Saba 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 Saba County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.