#103 Texas · 2026

Reeves County, Texas

71 · high county distress more distressed than 71% of U.S. counties · 103rd of 254 counties in Texas · 11,770 residents How this is calculated →
The headline number
42% Reeves residents
vs.
23% U.S. median

Above the national median for subprime credit share.

Equifax data retrieved via FRED (2025)

Main Findings

Wire lede · 44 words · paste-ready

Reeves County, Texas is more distressed than 71% of U.S. counties on the County Distress Index. The driver: 42% of residents carry subprime credit (score below 660) — above the national median of 23%. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency and its lowest is Labor.

Key Findings
  • 103rd of 254 counties in Texas on the County Distress Index — 71 · high county distress, more distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
  • 42% of residents carry subprime credit (score below 660) (U.S. median 23%). Subprime credit share at the 95th percentile nationally. Source: Equifax data retrieved via FRED (2025).
  • Severe rent burden (50%+) at 21% — national median 18%, ranked at the 68th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024).
  • Uninsured rate at 18% — national median 8%, ranked at the 94th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024).
  • Debt in collections at 44% — national median 23%, ranked at the 95th percentile. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
Distinctive Signals
Labor–Credit Divergence

Unemployment is 4%, near the national median of 4%, while subprime credit share runs at the 95th percentile. Jobs exist; wages don't close the gap.

Boundary Signal

Neighbors span four CDI score labels. The 43-point drop to Loving County marks where the Texas distress corridor ends.

County Distress Index cluster map. Reeves County, Texas and its neighbors colored by county distress score label.
Reeves and its 6 geographic neighbors, graded by County Distress Index score. Reeves County is more distressed than 71% of U.S. counties. American Default Research
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Reeves County has a high county distress score. The score label gives the intensity; the rank gives the national position.

— American Default Research
Index note — for feature use 32 words

The CDI gives this county a high county distress label. The rank belongs beside the score because the two answer different questions: score intensity and national position. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency.

— American Default Research

Reporter's Notes

Two data points in the indicator table worth a follow-up call.

Data anomaly
Disability rate sits well below the rest of the Safety Net & Buffer domain — the one indicator that doesn't fit

According to U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024), Reeves County's disability rate indicator is at the 6th percentile. American Default Research's CDI places every other indicator in the Safety Net & Buffer domain at or above the 59th percentile. The gap stands out against uninsured rate. Worth a call to the source agency or a local subject-matter contact in Pecos.

Indicator History

Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.

Updated Sep 22, 2026
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 1990 to 2025

Unemployment rate

3.7% -4.9 percentage points since 1990
Census 1989 to 2024

Poverty rate

16.8% -16 percentage points since 1989
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis 1969 to 2024

Transfer income share

15.5% +10.2 percentage points since 1969
FRED/Equifax 2014 Q2 to 2025 Q4

Subprime credit population

42.1% -5.07 percentage points since 2014 Q2

The Indicators Behind Reeves County's CDI Score

Every number traces to a public source. Reeves 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; higher values represent a higher mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles. A county's domain rank is computed separately against all counties. Percentile is Reeves County's national rank among all 3,144 U.S. counties for that indicator, always oriented so higher = more distressed.
Indicator Reeves TX median U.S. median Pctile Source
Delinquency — domain score 88 · Rank 291 of 3,144
Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due 7% 7% 5% 75th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due 10% 7% 5% 94th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 42% 32% 23% 95th Equifax data retrieved via FRED (2025)
Default & Legal — domain score 50 · Rank 1,535 of 3,144
Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections 44% 35% 23% 95th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents 17 78 126 5th Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025)
Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 65 · Rank 879 of 3,144
Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income 22% 22% 21% 62nd U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents (FY2027); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024)
Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent 21% 17% 18% 68th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024)
Labor — domain score 49 · Rank 1,632 of 3,144
Adults 25-54 not working Share of adults aged 25 to 54 without a job, leaving out residents of prisons and other institutions (service members count as working) 22% 22% 21% 57th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024)
Unemployment (average of monthly rates) Share of labor force unemployed, averaged over the monthly rates published for September 2025 to August 2026 (no figures published for October 2025) 4% 4% 4% 41st U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (monthly rates averaged, September 2025 to August 2026; no figures published for October 2025)
Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 60 · Rank 1,166 of 3,144
Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line 21% 20% 17% 69th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024)
Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability 11% 16% 16% 6th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024)
Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line 17% 15% 13% 75th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024)
Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage 18% 17% 8% 94th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024)
Compiled September 30, 2026 from Urban Institute Debt in America (2025 panel), U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-yr 2024, SAIPE 2024, Business Formation Statistics 2025), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS August 2026, QCEW 2025), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings 2025), and HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2027).

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 88
Weight 20% · Rank 291 of 3,144
Debt Burden (housing basis) 65
Weight 20% · Rank 879 of 3,144
Safety Net & Buffer 60
Weight 20% · Rank 1,166 of 3,144
Default & Legal 50
Weight 20% · Rank 1,535 of 3,144
Labor 49
Weight 20% · Rank 1,632 of 3,144

Methodology

The County Distress Index scores household financial distress from 0 to 100 for all 3,144 U.S. counties. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. 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 five domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every other county to give the score.

Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), Equifax data retrieved via FRED (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2024 to 2027 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.

For Press & Research

Everything you need to cite Reeves County data.

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Press contact: Ross Kilburn · press@americandefault.org · (307) 264-2992 · media inquiries welcome
Draft wire copy 126-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
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PECOS, Texas — Reeves County is more distressed than 71% of U.S. counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.

Reeves scores 71 out of 100, which means it is more distressed than 71% of U.S. counties; its score label is high county distress. Within Texas, Reeves ranks 103rd of 254 counties.

The index, which draws on 14 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 Reeves. 42% of residents carry subprime credit (score below 660) — above the national median of 23%.

American Default Research founder Ross Kilburn is available for interview at press@americandefault.org.

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

— 30 —

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Reeves County scores 71 out of 100 on the County Distress Index, which means it is more distressed than 71% of U.S. counties. Its score label is high county distress. It ranks 103rd of 254 Texas counties. Higher county scores indicate more distress.

What drives Reeves County's distress score?

The highest-scoring domain is Delinquency, at a domain score of 88. Subprime credit share ranks at the 95th percentile nationally.

How does Reeves County compare to its neighbors?

Reeves County's neighbors span 4 CDI score labels. Highest-distress neighbor: Ward County (71.00, high county distress). Lowest: Loving County (28.00, low county distress).

How is the County Distress Index calculated?

The CDI averages 14 source indicators across five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer, then ranks that average against every other county, so the score is the share of U.S. counties a county is more distressed than. Data comes from Urban Institute, Census Bureau, BLS, U.S. Courts, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and related public sources. Full methodology →
Ross Kilburn
Written by

Ross Kilburn, Founder

Founder · American Default Research · Seattle, Washington

Ross Kilburn is the former COO of Ark Law Group, a foreclosure defense firm serving five states. He founded Seattle Short Sales, wrote Short Sale Your Home, and worked as a mortgage loan originator and real estate agent. He founded American Default Research in 2026.

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