#1,404 Texas · 2026

Lampasas County, Texas

Middle fifth 1,404th of 3,144 counties nationally · 23,262 residents How this is calculated →
The headline number
7% Lampasas residents
vs.
5% U.S. median

Above the national median for credit card delinquency.

Urban Institute (2024)

Main Findings

Wire lede · 35 words · paste-ready

Lampasas County, Texas ranks 1,404th most distressed in the United States on the County Distress Index. The driver: 7% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due — above the national median of 5%.

Key Findings
  • 1,404th of 3,144 counties on the County Distress Index — Middle fifth, 162nd in Texas.
  • 7% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due (U.S. median 5%). Credit card delinquency at the 71st percentile nationally.
  • Unemployment at 4% — national median 4%, ranked at the 58th percentile.
  • Disability rate at 24% — national median 16%, ranked at the 94th percentile.
  • Debt in collections at 29% — national median 23%, ranked at the 71st percentile.
Distinctive Signals
Boundary Signal

Neighbors span four CDI distress fifths. The 31-point drop to Burnet County marks where the Texas distress corridor ends.

County Distress Index cluster map. Lampasas County, Texas and its neighbors colored by distress fifth.
Lampasas and its 6 geographic neighbors, graded by County Distress Index score. Lampasas County ranks 1,404th of 3,144. American Default Research
Wire quote — paste-ready, any angle 28 words

"Lampasas County ranks in the middle fifth of U.S. counties. The county sits near the national center of the CDI distribution, so the domain mix carries the story."

— Ross Kilburn, Founder, American Default Research
Analyst quote — for feature use 30 words

"The CDI places this county in the middle fifth nationally. The county sits near the center of the geography distribution, so the domain mix matters more than the composite alone."

— Ross Kilburn, Founder, American Default Research

The Indicators Behind Lampasas County's CDI Score

Every number traces to a public source. Lampasas County's value shown alongside TX's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.

How to read the table. A domain score is a 0–100 composite of the indicators in that domain, where 50 = U.S. county median and higher = more distressed. Percentile is Lampasas County's national rank among all 3,144 U.S. counties for that indicator, always oriented so higher = more distressed.
Indicator Lampasas TX median U.S. median Pctile Source
Delinquency — domain score 69 · Rank 910 of 3,144
Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due 6% 7% 5% 67th Urban Institute (2024)
Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due 7% 7% 5% 71st Urban Institute (2024)
Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 28% 32% 23% 69th Urban Institute (2024)
Default & Legal — domain score 46 · Rank 1,712 of 3,144
Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections 29% 35% 23% 71st Urban Institute (2024)
Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents 73 78 126 21st US Courts F-5A (2025)
Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 41 · Rank 1,947 of 3,144
Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income 18% 22% 21% 19th HUD FMR × Census ACS (2024)
Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent 20% 17% 18% 63rd Census ACS 5-yr (2023)
Labor — domain score 58 · Rank 1,343 of 3,144
Unemployment Share of labor force unemployed 4% 4% 4% 58th BLS LAUS (Dec 2025)
Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 53 · Rank 1,456 of 3,144
Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line 17% 22% 18% 46th Census SAIPE (2023)
Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability 24% 16% 16% 94th Census ACS 5-yr (2023)
Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line 12% 15% 14% 33rd Census SAIPE (2023)
Transfer-income dependency Share of personal income from government transfers 29% 26% 27% 61st BEA Regional Personal Income (2023)
Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage 13% 17% 8% 81st Census ACS 5-yr (2023)
Data compiled April 2026 from Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax 2024 panel), U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-yr 2023, SAIPE 2023, Business Formation Statistics 2024), Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS Dec 2025, QCEW 2024), U.S. Courts Administrative Office (F-5A bankruptcy filings 2025), and HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2024).

Five-Domain Breakdown

The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.

Delinquency Primary driver 69
Weight 20% · Rank 910 of 3,144
Labor 58
Weight 20% · Rank 1,343 of 3,144
Safety Net & Buffer 53
Weight 20% · Rank 1,456 of 3,144
Default & Legal 46
Weight 20% · Rank 1,712 of 3,144
Debt Burden (housing basis) 41
Weight 20% · Rank 1,947 of 3,144

Methodology

The County Distress Index is a 0–100 composite score of household financial distress, computed for all 3,144 U.S. counties. Higher scores indicate greater distress. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the CDI score is the equal-weight mean of those domain scores.

Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, Business Formation Statistics), Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages), U.S. Courts Administrative Office (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and HUD Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2023 to 2025 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.

For Press & Research

Everything you need to cite Lampasas County data — in under 60 seconds.

Embed preview — paste into any CMS <iframe src="https://americandefault.org/embed/county/48281/" width="600" height="300" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:8px;" title="Lampasas County, TX — County Distress Index"></iframe>
Press contact: Ross Kilburn · press@americandefault.org · (307) 264-2992 · same-day response, 9am–6pm ET
Draft wire copy 152-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
DRAFT · 152 words · for immediate release · cleared for reuse with attribution to American Default Research

LAMPASAS, Texas — Lampasas County ranks 1,404th among the nation's most financially distressed counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.

The composite score of 54 out of 100 places Lampasas in the middle fifth. Among 3,144 U.S. counties scored, 1,403 counties rank more distressed. Within Texas, Lampasas ranks 162nd of 254 counties.

The index, which draws on 16 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, identifies delinquency as the primary driver in Lampasas. 7% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due — above the national median of 5%.

"Lampasas County ranks in the middle fifth of U.S. counties. The county sits near the national center of the CDI distribution, so the domain mix carries the story," said Ross Kilburn, founder of American Default Research.

Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.

— 30 —

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Lampasas County's CDI score, and what does it mean?

Lampasas County scores 54 out of 100 on the County Distress Index, placing it in the middle fifth. It ranks 1,404th of 3,144 U.S. counties and 162nd of 254 Texas counties. Higher county scores indicate more distress.

What drives Lampasas County's distress score?

The highest-scoring domain is Delinquency, at a domain score of 69. Credit card delinquency ranks at the 71st percentile nationally.

How does Lampasas County compare to its neighbors?

Lampasas County's neighbors span 4 CDI distress fifths. Highest-distress neighbor: Bell County (69.67, Most distressed fifth). Lowest: Burnet County (38.45, Second-least distressed fifth).

How is the County Distress Index calculated?

The CDI is a 0–100 composite of 16 source indicators across five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Data comes from Urban Institute, Census Bureau, BLS, U.S. Courts, HUD, and related public sources. Full methodology →
Ross Kilburn
Written by

Ross Kilburn, Founder

Founder · American Default Research · Seattle, Washington

Two decades working directly with financially distressed American households — from property preservation in 2003, to negotiating over 1,000 short sales during the Great Recession, to foreclosure defense marketing today. Author, The Ark Law Group Complete Guide to Short Sales (Auroch Press, 2013). Founded American Default Research in 2026.

Read more
from Ross →