About two in five people with a credit file in Wichita County, Texas, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Wichita County, 39.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wichita County's score
In Wichita County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 85.0. Late payments on loans come next, at 78.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wichita 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.
Wichita County does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (18.8%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.7% · August 202593rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people205.1 · 202575th percentile
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- 78.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.2% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.3% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.7% · second quarter of 202683rd percentile
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- 62.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.4% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.1% · 202455th percentile
- People with a disability16.0% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- People without health insurance15.6% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,480 · 202453rd percentile
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- 49.1 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 rent17.2% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.0% · fiscal year 202753rd percentile
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- 45.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202652nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.8% · 2020 to 202438th 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 Wichita 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 Wichita County, 15.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wichita County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wichita County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 26.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Wichita County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 26.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wichita County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 10.5% in 2011 to 11.7% in 2012; 12.6% in 2022 to 11.4% in 2023.
The share of households in Wichita County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen to 12.2%
Low on the chart: 10.5% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wichita County, Texas.
How Wichita County has changed
Wichita County's population rose 7% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1994 and 1999
High on the chart: 132,246 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wichita County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Wichita County rose 5% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 55,699 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wichita County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.6% | 2024 14.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,366 | 2024 $65,480 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Wichita County's history
1858
Created in 1858 and organized in 1882. Wikipedia
1952
Continental Oil Company refinery operated until 1952. Wikipedia
1958
A tornado in April 1958 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1964
A tornado in April 1964 did $25 million in property damage and killed seven people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1979
A tornado in April 1979 did $250 million in property damage and killed 42 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 131,664. The 2020 Census counted 129,350, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2008
A flash flood in August 2008 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1979
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wichita County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wichita County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Wichita County, in Texas and Oklahoma, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wichita County ranks 3rd of the six; Tillman County is highest, at 37.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tillman County, OK | 93 | 22.2% | 37.8% |
| Cotton County, OK | 76 | 17.1% | 29.4% |
| Wilbarger County, TX | 76 | 14.9% | 25.3% |
| Wichita County, TX | 73 | 14.4% | 26.9% |
| Clay County, TX | 45 | 11.0% | 25.2% |
| Archer County, TX | 23 | 9.2% | 17.8% |
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 Wichita County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Wichita County's poverty rate was 14.4% in 2024, 139th 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, Wichita County ranks 93rd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wichita 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 Wichita 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 Wichita County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.