About one in six people in Stonewall County, Texas, lives below the poverty line
In Stonewall County, 16.5% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 72% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Stonewall County's score
In Stonewall County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 79.0. About three in five people (55.6%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 90% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 75.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Stonewall 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.
Stonewall County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (0.0%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.0 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 behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202573rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score55.6% · second quarter of 202690th percentile
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- 75.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202586th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people164.2 · 202564th percentile
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- 67.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.5% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.2% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability15.2% · 2020 to 202442nd percentile
- People without health insurance12.7% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,799 · 202464th percentile
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- 29.0 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 income20.9% · fiscal year 202752nd percentile
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- 21.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20265th or lower percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.8% · 2020 to 202438th 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 Stonewall 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 Stonewall County, 28.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Stonewall County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Stonewall County fell most sharply on the way to its 1979 low, from 22.1% in 1974 to 13.9% in 1979.
In Stonewall County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 24.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Stonewall County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Stonewall County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.4% in 2022 to 13.0% in 2023.
The share of households in Stonewall County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2022 and has since fallen to 8.0%
Low on the chart: 3.8% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Stonewall County, Texas.
How Stonewall County has changed
Stonewall County's population fell by about half to 1,235, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 2,083. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Stonewall County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Stonewall County had its largest rise in the last span, from 467 in 2020 to 724 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Stonewall County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2020, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 467 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Stonewall County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 2.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.4% | 2024 16.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,184 | 2024 $61,799 |
The table uses 2.2% for 2025; the score uses 2.4% 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 Stonewall County's history
1876
Formed in 1876 from Young Territory, initially attached to Young County, then Throckmorton County, then Jones County, finally organized in 1889. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 5,667. The 2020 Census counted 1,245, 22% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1993
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Stonewall County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Stonewall County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Stonewall County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Stonewall County ranks 5th of the six; Haskell County is highest, at 37.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jones County, TX | 86 | 22.7% | 30.3% |
| Haskell County, TX | 67 | 22.8% | 37.5% |
| Stonewall County, TX | 57 | 16.5% | 24.0% |
| Kent County, TX | 48 | 11.9% | 29.0% |
| Fisher County, TX | 46 | 14.9% | 28.9% |
| King County, TX | 29 | 13.5% | 4.1% |
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 Stonewall County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Stonewall County's poverty rate was 16.5% in 2024, 82nd 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, Stonewall County ranks 158th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Stonewall 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 Stonewall 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 Stonewall County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.