About one in four people in Trinity County, Texas, has a disability
In Trinity County, 24.4% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Trinity County's score
In Trinity County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 91.9. About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 (33.4%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a higher share than in 94% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 90.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Trinity 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.
Trinity County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.9 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202689th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.4% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
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- 90.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.6% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.4% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score56.0% · second quarter of 202690th percentile
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- 85.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.8% · 202474th percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.6% · 202481st percentile
- People with a disability24.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance16.0% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,638 · 202485th percentile
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- 73.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.8% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people133.5 · 202553rd percentile
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- 54.6 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 rent14.8% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.1% · fiscal year 202779th 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 Trinity 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 Trinity County, 27.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Trinity County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Trinity County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 39.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Trinity County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.6%; 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 Trinity County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 16.5%, the highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2021 to 2022, reaching 11.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Trinity County, Texas.
How Trinity County has changed
Trinity County's population doubled to 14,489, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 11,005. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Trinity County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Trinity County rose by about a fifth to 2,433, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 2,291. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Trinity County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 5.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.3% | 2024 16.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,087 | 2024 $53,638 |
The table uses 5.1% for 2025; the score uses 5.6% 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 Trinity County's history
1850
Founded 1850. Wikipedia
1996
Lightning in August 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A thunderstorm in September 2000 did $1 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 14,585. The 2020 Census counted 13,602, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
2024
A flash flood in January 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A tornado in April 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1989
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Trinity County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Trinity County beside its neighbors
Trinity County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Trinity County ranks 2nd of the six; Polk County is highest, at 40.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity County, TX | 94 | 16.8% | 39.6% |
| Polk County, TX | 89 | 14.5% | 40.5% |
| Houston County, TX | 86 | 19.3% | 32.4% |
| San Jacinto County, TX | 84 | 16.8% | 29.1% |
| Angelina County, TX | 83 | 12.7% | 29.1% |
| Walker County, TX | 79 | 23.3% | 27.2% |
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 Trinity County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Trinity County's poverty rate was 16.8% in 2024, 74th 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, Trinity County ranks 7th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Trinity 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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Lone Star Legal Aid
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 Trinity 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 Trinity County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.