In Sherman County, Texas, benefit checks make up only 6 cents of every dollar of income
In Sherman County, 5.5% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sherman County's score
In Sherman County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 60.7. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 13.3. Almost no renters (0.0%, 2020 to 2024) pay half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sherman 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, Sherman County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (16.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 60.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.0% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.5% · second quarter of 202647th percentile
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- 55.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.1% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.2% · 202450th percentile
- People with a disability16.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- People without health insurance16.3% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,998 · 202438th percentile
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- 46.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.7% · August 202533rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people149.4 · 202559th percentile
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- 18.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202613th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.4% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
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- 13.3 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 rent0.0% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202721st 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 Sherman 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 Sherman County, 18.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sherman County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Sherman County had its largest drop, from 12.7% in 2009 to 6.0% in 2014.
In Sherman County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 5.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than ten times as much as benefit checks
In Sherman County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 5.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sherman County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 5.5% in 2009 to 2.3% in 2010.
The share of households in Sherman County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a fifth from 2009 to 2024, reaching 4.4%, with its low point on the chart in 2021
Low on the chart: 1.6% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sherman County, Texas.
How Sherman County has changed
Sherman County's population fell most sharply after its 1974 high, from 3,448 in 1974 to 3,201 in 1979.
Sherman County's population fell 17% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 3,448 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sherman County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Sherman County rose by about a quarter to 1,090, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 1,090 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sherman County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.8% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.1% | 2024 12.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,264 | 2024 $70,998 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Sherman County's history
1876
Created in 1876 and organized in 1889. Wikipedia
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 3,657. The 2020 Census counted 2,782, 76% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1989
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sherman County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sherman County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Sherman County, in Texas and Oklahoma, score higher than it does. Of the group, Sherman County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Cimarron County gets the largest, at 20.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moore County, TX | 49 | 13.7% | 13.6% |
| Hansford County, TX | 45 | 11.1% | 11.9% |
| Texas County, OK | 40 | 13.5% | 12.0% |
| Cimarron County, OK | 40 | 17.2% | 20.3% |
| Dallam County, TX | 37 | 11.7% | 12.5% |
| Sherman County, TX | 30 | 12.1% | 5.5% |
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 Sherman County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Sherman County's poverty rate was 12.1% in 2024, 186th 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, Sherman County ranks 232nd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sherman 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 Sherman 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 Sherman County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.