About one in two people with a credit file in Willacy County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Willacy County, 46.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Willacy County's score
In Willacy County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 97.5. Income and the safety net comes next, at 81.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Willacy 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.
Willacy County does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (13.0%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (64.9, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 97.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind11.2% · August 202597th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.1% · August 202596th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score63.1% · second quarter of 202698th percentile
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- 81.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line24.2% · 202495th percentile
- Children below the poverty line32.8% · 202494th percentile
- People with a disability12.9% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- People without health insurance23.9% · 2020 to 202498th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,616 · 202495th percentile
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- 78.6 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 rent21.4% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.1% · fiscal year 202788th percentile
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- 58.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector46.6% · August 202599th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people64.9 · 202517th percentile
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- 52.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202695th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.0% · 2020 to 20248th 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 Willacy 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 Willacy County, 14.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Willacy County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Willacy County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 44.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Willacy County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 44.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Willacy County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 27.2% in 2016 to 21.7% in 2017.
The share of households in Willacy County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 31.9%, with its low point on the chart in 2018
Low on the chart: 21.2% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Willacy County, Texas.
How Willacy County has changed
Willacy County's population rose most sharply from its first year (15,120 in 1969) to 16,401 in 1974.
Willacy County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 21,862 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Willacy County, Texas.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Willacy County rose 15% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2005 and 2010
High on the chart: 4,375 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Willacy County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 16.8% | 2025 5.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 45.9% | 2024 24.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,634 | 2024 $46,616 |
The table uses 5.6% for 2025; the score uses 6.7% 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 Willacy County's history
1911
Formed 1911. Wikipedia
1912
Bermuda onion introduced 1912, displaced ranchland in southern Willacy County. Wikipedia
1940
First oil wells sunk in Willamar Oil Field in 1940. Wikipedia
1988
A thunderstorm in June 1988 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 22,134. The 2020 Census counted 20,164, 91% of the peak. Census Bureau
2019
A flash flood in June 2019 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flash flood in July 2020 did $5.98 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
Lightning in March 2025 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Willacy County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Willacy County beside its neighbors
All three counties that border Willacy County score higher than it does. Of the group, Willacy County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (44.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenedy County, TX | 94 | 15.5% | 18.3% |
| Hidalgo County, TX | 91 | 24.2% | 31.6% |
| Cameron County, TX | 90 | 24.3% | 33.0% |
| Willacy County, TX | 88 | 24.2% | 44.0% |
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 Willacy County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Willacy County's poverty rate was 24.2% in 2024, 11th 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, Willacy County ranks 23rd of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Willacy 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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Texas RioGrande 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 Willacy 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 Willacy County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.