About one in two people with a credit file in Scurry County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Scurry County, 45.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Scurry County's score
In Scurry County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 83.1. About three in five people (55.0%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 89% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 59.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Scurry 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.
Scurry County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (55.5, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.1 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 behind7.8% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score55.0% · second quarter of 202689th percentile
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- 59.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.1% · 202465th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.8% · 202467th percentile
- People with a disability13.6% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- People without health insurance16.8% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,306 · 202445th percentile
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- 53.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector45.5% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people55.5 · 202511th percentile
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- 48.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202647th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.5% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
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- 38.6 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 rent11.1% · 2020 to 202415th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.9% · fiscal year 202761st 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 Scurry 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 Scurry County, 15.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Scurry County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Scurry County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Scurry County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Scurry County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.4% in 2022 to 8.5% in 2023.
The share of households in Scurry County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 8.0%
Low on the chart: 5.1% 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, Scurry County, Texas.
How Scurry County has changed
Scurry County's population had its largest rise, from 18,090 in 1979 to 20,688 in 1984.
Scurry County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 20,688 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Scurry County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Scurry County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 7,967 in 2015 to 5,706 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Scurry County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 17% since
High on the chart: 7,967 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Scurry County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.0% | 2024 15.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,869 | 2024 $68,306 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Scurry County's history
1876
Created in 1876 and organized June 28, 1884. Wikipedia
1948
Oil discovered in Canyon Reef area north of Snyder, creating boomtown with population jump to 12,000 in one year. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 22,779. The 2020 Census counted 16,932, 74% of the peak. Census Bureau
1999
Hail in June 1999 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A flash flood in June 1999 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
Hail in May 2006 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1993
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Scurry County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Scurry County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Scurry County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Scurry County ranks 5th of the six; Mitchell County is highest, at 29.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garza County, TX | 70 | 17.2% | 29.4% |
| Mitchell County, TX | 62 | 22.1% | 29.7% |
| Scurry County, TX | 60 | 15.1% | 23.3% |
| Kent County, TX | 48 | 11.9% | 29.0% |
| Fisher County, TX | 46 | 14.9% | 28.9% |
| Borden County, TX | 34 | 10.2% | 6.3% |
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 Scurry County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Scurry County's poverty rate was 15.1% in 2024, 112th 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, Scurry County ranks 149th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Scurry 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 Scurry 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 Scurry County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.