Benefit checks make up 36 cents of every dollar of income in Throckmorton County, Texas
In Throckmorton County, 36.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 85% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Throckmorton County's score
In Throckmorton County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 79.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 196.6 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 73% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 72.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Throckmorton 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.
Throckmorton County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.7%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a subprime credit score (36.8%, Q2 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit 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 people196.6 · 202573rd percentile
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- 72.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.1% · 202457th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.4% · 202470th percentile
- People with a disability17.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- People without health insurance20.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,961 · 202478th percentile
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- 66.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202672nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.3% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
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- 61.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit 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 score36.8% · second quarter of 202636th percentile
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- 50.7 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 rent15.7% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th 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 Throckmorton 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 Throckmorton County, 26.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Throckmorton County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Throckmorton County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 36.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Throckmorton County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Throckmorton County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 6.5% in 2018 to 10.2% in 2019.
The share of households in Throckmorton County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2016, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 4.3% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Throckmorton County, Texas.
How Throckmorton County has changed
Throckmorton County's population fell most sharply after its 1984 high, from 2,399 in 1984 to 1,961 in 1989.
Throckmorton County's population fell by about a third from 1969 to 2019, reaching 1,440, then turned up in 2024
High on the chart: 2,399 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Throckmorton County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Throckmorton County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 395, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 515 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Throckmorton County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.4% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.0% | 2024 14.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,607 | 2024 $56,961 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Throckmorton County's history
1859
Comanche Indian Reservation residents removed to Oklahoma Indian Territory, 1859. Wikipedia
1861
Camp Cooper abandoned by federal troops, 1861. Wikipedia
1881
Fort Griffin abandoned, signaled end of region's frontier era, 1881. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 5,253. The 2020 Census counted 1,440, 27% of the peak. Census Bureau
1985
A tornado in April 1985 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1978
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Throckmorton County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Throckmorton County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Throckmorton County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Throckmorton County ranks 2nd of the six; Haskell County is highest, at 37.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor County, TX | 81 | 16.1% | 29.8% |
| Throckmorton County, TX | 77 | 14.1% | 36.3% |
| Stephens County, TX | 74 | 17.7% | 30.4% |
| Haskell County, TX | 67 | 22.8% | 37.5% |
| 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 Throckmorton County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Throckmorton County's poverty rate was 14.1% in 2024, 148th 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, Throckmorton County ranks 83rd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Throckmorton 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 Throckmorton 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 Throckmorton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.