About one in two people with a credit file in Terry County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Terry County, 45.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Terry County's score
In Terry County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.5. About three in five people (56.4%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 91% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 80.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Terry 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.
Terry County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (77.9, 2025) and people with a disability (15.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit 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 behind9.4% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.4% · second quarter of 202691st percentile
-
- 80.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.8% · 202486th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.7% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability15.4% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- People without health insurance26.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,129 · 202488th percentile
-
- 65.9 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 rent19.5% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.3% · fiscal year 202773rd percentile
-
- 59.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector45.9% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people77.9 · 202523rd percentile
-
- 55.8 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 202664th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.3% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
-
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 Terry 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 Terry County, 16.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Terry County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Terry County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 31.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Terry County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 31.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Terry County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 21.1% in 2023 to 26.7% in 2024.
The share of households in Terry County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 26.7%, the highest on the chart
Low on the chart: 14.7% 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, Terry County, Texas.
How Terry County has changed
Terry County's population fell by about a quarter to 11,602, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 13,431. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Terry County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Terry County had its largest drop, from 3,851 in 2015 to 3,336 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Terry County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 4,108 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Terry County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.0% | 2024 19.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,653 | 2024 $52,129 |
The table uses 4.3% 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 Terry County's history
1940
Oil discovered in Terry County in 1940, with 363,143,000 barrels extracted by 1991. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 16,286. The 2020 Census counted 11,831, 73% of the peak. Census Bureau
1995
Jim Rudd Unit state prison opened in Brownfield in 1995. Wikipedia
-
Since 1992
15 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Terry County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Terry County beside its neighbors
Terry County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Terry County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (31.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terry County, TX | 84 | 19.8% | 31.2% |
| Dawson County, TX | 82 | 20.1% | 27.7% |
| Hockley County, TX | 71 | 15.8% | 27.2% |
| Yoakum County, TX | 41 | 12.6% | 19.8% |
| Lynn County, TX | 37 | 13.9% | 23.8% |
| Gaines County, TX | 33 | 12.2% | 14.2% |
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 Terry County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Terry County's poverty rate was 19.8% in 2024, 39th 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, Terry County ranks 43rd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Terry 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.
-
Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas
Legal aid
-
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 Terry County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.