In Yoakum County, Texas, benefit checks make up only 20 cents of every dollar of income
In Yoakum County, 19.8% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 80% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 58% of U.S. counties.
What drives Yoakum County's score
In Yoakum County, jobs are the highest-scoring part, at 69.2. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 18.7. About one in 36 renters (2.8%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Yoakum 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.
Even so, Yoakum County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (22.5%, 2020 to 2024) and adults 25 to 54 not working (28.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 69.2 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202651st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.7% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
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- 49.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.6% · 202445th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.0% · 202449th percentile
- People with a disability13.6% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- People without health insurance22.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,871 · 202427th percentile
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- 44.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.8% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.8% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.3% · second quarter of 202664th percentile
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- 43.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.8% · August 202581st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people13.4 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 18.7 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 rent2.8% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.1% · fiscal year 202732nd 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 Yoakum 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 Yoakum County, 12.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Yoakum County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Yoakum County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 19.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Yoakum County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 19.8%; 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 Yoakum County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2022 and has since fallen to 3.3%
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 6.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Yoakum County, Texas.
How Yoakum County has changed
Yoakum County's population had its largest rise, from 8,053 in 1979 to 9,191 in 1984.
Yoakum County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 18% since
High on the chart: 9,191 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Yoakum County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Yoakum County had its largest drop, from 4,068 in 2015 to 3,035 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Yoakum County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 4,068 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Yoakum County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.9% | 2024 12.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,645 | 2024 $75,871 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Yoakum County's history
1876
Created in 1876 and organized in 1907. Wikipedia
1936
Oil discovered Yoakum County 1936. Wikipedia
1990
The county's largest recorded population was the 1990 Census count of 8,786. The 2020 Census counted 7,694, 88% of the peak. Census Bureau
1996
Hail in June 1996 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1992
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Yoakum County. FEMA
Yoakum County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Yoakum County, in Texas and New Mexico, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Yoakum County ranks 3rd of the five; Terry County is highest, at 31.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terry County, TX | 84 | 19.8% | 31.2% |
| Cochran County, TX | 79 | 20.8% | 27.4% |
| Lea County, NM | 73 | 15.7% | 19.0% |
| Yoakum County, TX | 41 | 12.6% | 19.8% |
| Gaines County, TX | 33 | 12.2% | 14.2% |
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 Yoakum County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Yoakum County's poverty rate was 12.6% in 2024, 179th 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, Yoakum County ranks 210th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Yoakum 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 Yoakum 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 Yoakum County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.