About one in three people in Starr County, Texas, lives below the poverty line
In Starr County, 35.4% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Starr County's score
In Starr County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 93.8. Late payments on loans come next, at 93.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Starr 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.
Starr County does better than most counties on one measure: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (9.1, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year9.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202699th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.3% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
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- 93.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.7% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.3% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score58.8% · second quarter of 202694th percentile
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- 91.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line35.4% · 202499th percentile
- Children below the poverty line44.1% · 202499th percentile
- People with a disability16.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- People without health insurance28.9% · 2020 to 202499th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$37,375 · 202499th percentile
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- 87.6 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 rent22.7% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income32.6% · fiscal year 202798th percentile
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- 49.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector44.2% · August 202597th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people9.1 · 20250th 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 Starr 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 Starr County, 11.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Starr County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Starr County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 44.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Starr County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 44.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Starr County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 42.5%, with most of the change between 2011 and 2012
High on the chart: 45.6% in 2013. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Starr County, Texas.
How Starr County has changed
Starr County's population had its largest rise, from 39,811 in 1989 to 48,412 in 1994.
Starr County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 66,587, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 66,587. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Starr County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Starr County had its largest rise, from 6,450 in 1990 to 9,181 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Starr County more than doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 15,052
High on the chart: 15,097 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Starr County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 40.6% | 2025 9.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 55.2% | 2024 35.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $10,314 | 2024 $37,375 |
The table uses 9.5% for 2025; the score uses 9.4% 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 Starr County's history
1848
Created in 1848. Wikipedia
2007
A flash flood in June 2007 did $7.77 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A flood in July 2010 did $37 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2018
A flash flood in June 2018 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 65,920, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1967
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Starr County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Starr County beside its neighbors
Starr County scores higher than all four counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Starr County ranks 2nd of the five; Brooks County is highest, at 46.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starr County, TX | 97 | 35.4% | 44.1% |
| Zapata County, TX | 92 | 30.9% | 40.0% |
| Hidalgo County, TX | 91 | 24.2% | 31.6% |
| Brooks County, TX | 90 | 30.6% | 46.9% |
| Jim Hogg County, TX | 87 | 22.1% | 39.7% |
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 Starr County the poorest county in Texas?
Yes, Starr County's poverty rate was 35.4% in 2024, the highest of 254 counties in Texas (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Starr County ranks 1st of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Starr 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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Texas RioGrande 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 Starr County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.