About one in three people with a credit file in Stephens County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Stephens County, 36.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 74% of U.S. counties.
What drives Stephens County's score
In Stephens County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 85.3. People with a credit card behind: 9.4%, August 2025, higher than in 92% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 79.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Stephens 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.
Stephens County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.9%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (85.6, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.4% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.6% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.6% · second quarter of 202676th percentile
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- 79.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.7% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.0% · 202482nd percentile
- People with a disability18.8% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- People without health insurance13.8% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,983 · 202475th percentile
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- 63.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202663rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.8% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
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- 58.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.2% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people85.6 · 202528th percentile
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- 36.1 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 rent11.9% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.0% · fiscal year 202753rd 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 Stephens 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 Stephens County, 20.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Stephens County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Stephens County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 30.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Stephens County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Stephens County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.3% in 2011 to 11.9% in 2012.
The share of households in Stephens County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 8.2% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Stephens County, Texas.
How Stephens County has changed
Stephens County's population had its largest drop, from 10,591 in 1984 to 9,236 in 1989.
Stephens County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 11% since
High on the chart: 10,591 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Stephens County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Stephens County rose by about a fifth to 3,309, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 3,105. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Stephens County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.2% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.3% | 2024 17.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,249 | 2024 $57,983 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Stephens County's history
1858
Created in 1858, organized in 1876. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 16,560. The 2020 Census counted 9,101, 55% of the peak. Census Bureau
1979
A tornado in October 1979 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in April 2008 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in May 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2026
Lightning in February 2026 did $2.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1978
17 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Stephens County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Stephens County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Stephens County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Stephens County ranks 3rd of the six; Throckmorton County is highest, at 36.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Pinto County, TX | 80 | 16.0% | 26.4% |
| Eastland County, TX | 78 | 18.5% | 34.8% |
| Throckmorton County, TX | 77 | 14.1% | 36.3% |
| Stephens County, TX | 74 | 17.7% | 30.4% |
| Young County, TX | 47 | 13.7% | 24.6% |
| Shackelford County, TX | 42 | 12.1% | 16.5% |
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 Stephens County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Stephens County's poverty rate was 17.7% in 2024, 66th 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, Stephens County ranks 91st of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Stephens 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 Stephens 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 Stephens County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.