About three in ten people with a credit file in Titus County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Titus County, 29.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 72% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Titus County's score
In Titus County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 88.4. People with a credit card behind: 10.0%, August 2025, higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 68.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Titus 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.
Titus County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (82.9, 2025) and people with a disability (15.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.0% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.2% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.4% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
-
- 68.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.0% · 202464th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.1% · 202468th percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance21.5% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,204 · 202467th percentile
-
- 66.6 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 rent24.5% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202748th percentile
-
- 58.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202659th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.9% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
-
- 50.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.7% · August 202572nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people82.9 · 202527th 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 Titus 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 Titus County, 15.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Titus County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Titus County had its largest rise, from 18.9% in 2004 to 24.9% in 2009.
In Titus County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 23.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Titus County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.8%; 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 Titus County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled to 19.4%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 14.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Titus County, Texas.
How Titus County has changed
Titus County's population had its largest rise, from 25,529 in 1994 to 27,920 in 1999.
Titus County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31,547
High on the chart: 31,787 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Titus County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Titus County rose by about half to 17,991, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 15,283. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Titus County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.5% | 2024 15.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,981 | 2024 $61,204 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Titus County's history
1846
Titus County was created by a legislative act on May 11, 1846. Wikipedia
1984
A tornado in October 1984 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
A thunderstorm in June 1997 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A tornado in May 1999 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 32,334. The 2020 Census counted 31,247, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
-
Since 1966
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Titus County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Titus County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Titus County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Titus County ranks 4th of the five; Red River County is highest, at 39.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morris County, TX | 87 | 19.0% | 38.3% |
| Red River County, TX | 86 | 15.0% | 39.3% |
| Titus County, TX | 77 | 15.0% | 23.8% |
| Camp County, TX | 69 | 15.7% | 29.9% |
| Franklin County, TX | 37 | 13.4% | 23.8% |
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 Titus County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Titus County's poverty rate was 15.0% in 2024, 115th 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, Titus County ranks 81st of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Titus 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.
-
Lone Star Legal Aid
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 Titus County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.