About two in five people with a credit file in Shelby County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Shelby County, 40.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Shelby County's score
In Shelby County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 92.8. People with a credit card behind: 11.2%, August 2025, higher than in 97% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 74.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Shelby 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.
Shelby County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (78.6, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind11.2% · August 202597th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.3% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.3% · second quarter of 202691st percentile
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- 74.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.2% · 202471st percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.1% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability16.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- People without health insurance20.9% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,737 · 202474th percentile
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- 73.0 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 202685th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.5% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
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- 60.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector40.5% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people78.6 · 202525th percentile
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- 49.6 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 rent17.9% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County, 18.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Shelby County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Shelby County had its largest drop, from 29.7% in 2009 to 24.9% in 2014.
In Shelby County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 23.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Shelby County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Shelby County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.7% in 2021 to 15.2% in 2022.
The share of households in Shelby County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 15.7%
Low on the chart: 14.3% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Shelby County, Texas.
How Shelby County has changed
Shelby County's population had its largest rise, from 23,345 in 1994 to 24,953 in 1999.
Shelby County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24,192
High on the chart: 25,520 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Shelby County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Shelby County rose by about half to 8,789, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 7,445. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Shelby County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.0% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.9% | 2024 16.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,409 | 2024 $58,737 |
The table uses 4.9% 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 Shelby County's history
1835
Established in 1835 as a municipality of Mexico and organized as a county in 1837. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 29,235. The 2020 Census counted 24,022, 82% of the peak. Census Bureau
1950
A tornado in February 1950 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1987
A tornado in November 1987 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A thunderstorm in February 1998 did $8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A flash flood in January 1999 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1966
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Shelby County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Shelby County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Shelby County, in Texas and Louisiana, four score higher. Of the group, Shelby County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Sabine County gets the largest, at 47.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Augustine County, TX | 92 | 20.4% | 39.7% |
| Nacogdoches County, TX | 90 | 21.9% | 26.7% |
| De Soto Parish, LA | 87 | 17.0% | 27.9% |
| Sabine Parish, LA | 86 | 21.0% | 34.8% |
| Shelby County, TX | 83 | 16.2% | 23.9% |
| Rusk County, TX | 73 | 14.1% | 27.3% |
| Sabine County, TX | 67 | 15.9% | 47.7% |
| Panola County, TX | 65 | 13.3% | 26.1% |
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 Shelby County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Shelby County's poverty rate was 16.2% in 2024, 85th 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, Shelby County ranks 48th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Shelby 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.
Download the CSV for Shelby 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 Shelby County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.