About two in five people with a credit file in Wharton County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Wharton County, 37.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 64% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wharton County's score
In Wharton County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 67.5. Unemployment averaged 4.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 73% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 67.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wharton 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.
Wharton County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (43.1, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 67.5 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202673rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.6% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
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- 67.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.7% · August 202557th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.3% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
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- 63.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.6% · 202461st percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.5% · 202466th percentile
- People with a disability14.4% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- People without health insurance14.2% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,887 · 202464th percentile
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- 48.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.2% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people43.1 · 20257th percentile
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- 48.0 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 rent13.5% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202771st 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 Wharton 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 Wharton County, 18.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wharton County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wharton County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 27.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Wharton County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wharton County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.5% in 2011 to 16.0% in 2012.
The share of households in Wharton County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2020 and has since fallen to 13.9%
Low on the chart: 10.6% 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, Wharton County, Texas.
How Wharton County has changed
Wharton County's population rose 14% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 42,035 in 2024. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wharton County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Wharton County rose by about a fifth to 16,194, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 15,620. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wharton County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.1% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.9% | 2024 14.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,590 | 2024 $61,887 |
The table uses 4.4% 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 Wharton County's history
1846
Created in 1846. Wikipedia
1846
Wharton area settled 1846 by Stephen F. Austin colonists. Wikipedia
1850
Jewish immigrants from Germany arrived Wharton 1850s. Wikipedia
1967
A tornado in September 1967 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
Hail in June 1996 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A flash flood in November 2004 did $2.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 41,570, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1990
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wharton County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wharton County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Wharton County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wharton County ranks 2nd of the seven; Matagorda County is highest, at 28.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matagorda County, TX | 85 | 14.8% | 28.6% |
| Jackson County, TX | 65 | 14.3% | 26.6% |
| Wharton County, TX | 64 | 14.6% | 27.0% |
| Austin County, TX | 54 | 11.1% | 21.3% |
| Colorado County, TX | 50 | 13.4% | 27.0% |
| Brazoria County, TX | 47 | 9.1% | 16.9% |
| Fort Bend County, TX | 38 | 7.7% | 11.1% |
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 Wharton County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Wharton County's poverty rate was 14.6% in 2024, 129th 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, Wharton County ranks 140th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wharton 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 Wharton 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 Wharton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.