About one in two people with a credit file in Zapata County, Texas, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Zapata County, 53.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Zapata County's score
In Zapata County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 95.0. People with a credit card behind: 10.3%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 91.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Zapata 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.
Zapata County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (21.8, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.3% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.1% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score66.2% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 91.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.3% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
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- 84.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line30.9% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line44.4% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability15.3% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- People without health insurance27.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$43,517 · 2024top 5%
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- 64.4 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 rent15.7% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.0% · fiscal year 202793rd percentile
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- 50.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector53.9% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people21.8 · 20255th or lower 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 Zapata 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 Zapata County, 14.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Zapata County
Texas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Zapata County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 40.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Zapata County, Texas, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 40.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Zapata County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 31.2% in 2019 to 24.3% in 2020.
The share of households in Zapata County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a fifth from 2009 to 2024, reaching 31.3%, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 24.3% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Zapata County, Texas.
How Zapata County has changed
Zapata County's population had its largest rise, from 6,355 in 1979 to 8,164 in 1984.
Zapata County's population more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 13,819
High on the chart: 14,232 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Zapata County, Texas.
The number of jobs located in Zapata County had its largest drop, from 4,287 in 2015 to 2,884 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Zapata County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 4,287 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Zapata County, Texas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 12.8% | 2025 6.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 36.3% | 2024 30.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,971 | 2024 $43,517 |
The table uses 6.9% for 2025; the score uses 7.0% 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 Zapata County's history
1920
South Texas oil boom wells drilled in county. Wikipedia
1953
Town relocated to higher ground before Falcon Dam flooded original town center. Wikipedia
1970
A tornado in May 1970 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 14,018. The 2020 Census counted 13,889, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2010
A flood in July 2010 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1967
14 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Zapata County. FEMA
Zapata County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Zapata County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Zapata County ranks 2nd of the four; Starr County is highest, at 44.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starr County, TX | 97 | 35.4% | 44.1% |
| Zapata County, TX | 92 | 30.9% | 40.0% |
| Webb County, TX | 87 | 20.6% | 24.6% |
| Jim Hogg County, TX | 87 | 22.1% | 39.7% |
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 Zapata County the poorest county in Texas?
No, Zapata County's poverty rate was 30.9% in 2024, 2nd 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, Zapata County ranks 11th of 254 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Zapata 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 Zapata 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 Zapata County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.