About two in five people with a credit file in Ward County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Ward County, 44.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ward County's score
In Ward County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 92.3. People with a car or retail loan behind: 12.1%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 69.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ward 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.
Ward County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (45.6, 2025) and people with a disability (13.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.9% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.1% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score56.2% · second quarter of 202691st percentile
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- 69.1 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 rent20.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.3% · fiscal year 202773rd percentile
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- 53.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.6% · 202453rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.1% · 202455th percentile
- People with a disability13.6% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- People without health insurance18.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$72,414 · 202434th percentile
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- 51.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector44.0% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people45.6 · 20258th percentile
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- 44.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202636th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.2% · 2020 to 202452nd 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 Ward 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 Ward County, 13.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ward County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Ward County had its largest rise, from 11.9% in 1989 to 19.3% in 1994.
In Ward County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 15.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about five times as much as benefit checks
In Ward County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 15.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ward County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.0% in 2021 to 10.7% in 2022.
The share of households in Ward County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 9.1%
Low on the chart: 8.7% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Ward County, Texas.
How Ward County has changed
Ward County's population had its largest rise, from 13,124 in 1979 to 15,997 in 1984.
Ward County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 15,997 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ward County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Ward County had its largest rise in the last span, from 4,855 in 2020 to 6,374 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Ward County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2005, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 3,196 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ward County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.7% | 2024 13.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,252 | 2024 $72,414 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Ward County's history
1887
Created in 1887 and organized in 1892. Wikipedia
1926
Oil discovered in Monahans area 1926. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 14,917. The 2020 Census counted 11,644, 78% of the peak. Census Bureau
1977
A tornado in April 1977 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
Pyote Air Force Base, youth detention facility closed 2010. Wikipedia
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Since 1998
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ward County. FEMA
Ward County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Ward County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Ward County ranks 3rd of the seven; Pecos County is highest, at 24.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ector County, TX | 78 | 14.8% | 15.2% |
| Reeves County, TX | 71 | 16.8% | 15.5% |
| Ward County, TX | 70 | 13.6% | 15.7% |
| Pecos County, TX | 65 | 17.3% | 24.4% |
| Winkler County, TX | 43 | 14.3% | 15.1% |
| Crane County, TX | 39 | 11.4% | 16.9% |
| Loving County, TX | 28 | 6.3% | 6.7% |
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 Ward County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Ward County's poverty rate was 13.6% in 2024, 160th 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, Ward County ranks 104th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ward 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.
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 Ward County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.