About one in three people with a credit file in Smith County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Smith County, 32.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 79% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Smith County's score
In Smith County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 70.8. People with a credit card behind: 7.0%, August 2025, higher than in 74% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 67.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Smith 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.
Smith County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (13.5%, 2020 to 2024) and median household income ($75,620, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 70.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.0% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.7% · second quarter of 202668th percentile
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- 67.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.0% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people137 · 202554th percentile
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- 53.9 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 rent20.1% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202745th percentile
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- 52.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202653rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.9% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
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- 48.0 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 line17.5% · 202451st percentile
- People with a disability13.5% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
- People without health insurance16.9% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,620 · 202428th 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 Smith 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 Smith County, 17.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Smith County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Smith County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 18.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Smith County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Smith County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 11.1% in 2019 to 9.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Smith County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 9.1% 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, Smith County, Texas.
How Smith County has changed
Smith County's population had its largest rise, from 187,300 in 2004 to 207,111 in 2009.
Smith County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 249,091, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 150,876. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Smith County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Smith County had its largest rise in the last span, from 101,873 in 2020 to 115,454 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Smith County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 115,454, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 101,873. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Smith County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.5% | 2024 12.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,588 | 2024 $75,620 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Smith County's history
1846
Established July 1846. Wikipedia
1957
A tornado in April 1957 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1987
A tornado in November 1987 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 233,479, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2022
A thunderstorm in April 2022 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Smith County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Smith County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Smith County score higher than it does. Of the group, Smith County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Wood County gets the largest, at 36.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henderson County, TX | 90 | 15.9% | 30.4% |
| Gregg County, TX | 86 | 16.1% | 25.7% |
| Wood County, TX | 78 | 13.7% | 36.4% |
| Upshur County, TX | 75 | 13.7% | 29.2% |
| Cherokee County, TX | 74 | 16.0% | 31.7% |
| Rusk County, TX | 73 | 14.1% | 27.3% |
| Van Zandt County, TX | 66 | 13.0% | 27.6% |
| Smith County, TX | 63 | 12.1% | 18.8% |
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 Smith County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Smith 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, Smith County ranks 141st of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Smith 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.
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 Smith County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.