The 25 U.S. Counties Where Debt in Collections Is Most Common
Brooks County, Texas tops the list at 56.3% of residents carrying a debt in third-party collections — more than double the 22% national average. The top of the list is dominated by two clusters: rural South Texas border counties and Native American reservation counties, a pattern distinct from the mortgage-delinquency and bankruptcy-filing counties covered elsewhere on this site.
Where debt in collections is most common
| County | State | Debt in collections | Card delinquency (90+ days) | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooks County | Texas | 56.3% | 9.8% | $46,187 |
| Zapata County | Texas | 55.7% | 9.1% | $56,419 |
| Zavala County | Texas | 55.2% | 12.4% | $60,004 |
| Jim Hogg County | Texas | 54.7% | 7.8% | $59,372 |
| Allendale County | South Carolina | 54% | 12.5% | $49,046 |
| Duval County | Texas | 53.1% | 5.6% | $61,341 |
| La Salle County | Texas | 52.4% | 5.9% | $63,787 |
| Marlboro County | South Carolina | 52.2% | 10.7% | $49,740 |
| Jim Wells County | Texas | 51.5% | 8.1% | $69,066 |
| Lee County | South Carolina | 51.2% | 11.1% | $51,559 |
| Baker County | Georgia | 50.7% | — | $59,560 |
| Dimmit County | Texas | 49.8% | 7.3% | $58,081 |
| Todd County | South Dakota | 49.4% | — | $44,378 |
| Bee County | Texas | 49.3% | 7.6% | $72,582 |
| Oglala Lakota County | South Dakota | 49.2% | 12.7% | $47,919 |
| Menominee County | Wisconsin | 49.2% | 14.3% | $81,490 |
| Anson County | North Carolina | 49% | 9.7% | $56,821 |
| Dillon County | South Carolina | 48.8% | 11.1% | $56,391 |
| Marion County | South Carolina | 48.7% | 12.9% | $51,542 |
| Crittenden County | Arkansas | 48.3% | 14.1% | $70,749 |
| Madison Parish | Louisiana | 48.2% | 11.3% | $56,215 |
| Phillips County | Arkansas | 48.1% | 15.5% | $54,223 |
| Willacy County | Texas | 47.8% | 11.5% | $59,226 |
| Franklin city | Virginia | 47.4% | 10.5% | $70,700 |
| Chicot County | Arkansas | 47.2% | 11.7% | $61,443 |
National averages for comparison: 22% of Americans have a debt in third-party collections, and5.1% carry a credit card 90 or more days delinquent. Every county above runs well past both figures — several at more than double the national collections rate.
If a debt of yours has already gone to collections, see what to do the first time a collector contacts you before agreeing to pay anything, and consider requesting debt validation if you're unsure the amount or the current owner of the account is correct — debt in collections changes hands often, and the new holder has to prove what it's claiming.
Methodology
Source: Urban Institute, "Debt in America: An Interactive Map," county-level data file, 2024-07-15 update (the most recent vintage confirmed mirrored to the project's public GitHub repository as of July 2026). "Debt in collections" reflects the share of residents with a report of debt in third-party collections on their credit file, drawn from a nationally representative credit bureau sample — not a survey or self-report. Card delinquency reflects the share of residents with a credit card account 90 or more days past due. Counties are ranked by collections rate; rows with no reliable card-delinquency estimate show "—".
Why this doesn't match our other county rankings: mortgage delinquency and bankruptcy filings are single-year events tied to CFPB and U.S. Courts data; debt-in-collections is a standing base rate from a different source and vintage. Treat this as a distinct lens on financial distress, not an update to those other rankings.
Already hearing from a collector?
What to do the first time they contact youQuestions & Answers
Which U.S. county has the highest rate of debt in collections?
Brooks County, Texas, where an estimated 56.3% of residents carry a debt in third-party collections — more than double the 22% national average — per Urban Institute county-level data.
— US Debt Compass Editorial Team
Is this the same list as the mortgage delinquency or bankruptcy rankings?
No — this is a completely different set of counties. It measures the standing share of residents with any debt sent to collections (medical, credit card, auto, and other unpaid accounts combined), not a single-year mortgage or bankruptcy event, and none of the 25 counties here overlap with our mortgage-delinquency or bankruptcy-filing county rankings.
— US Debt Compass Editorial Team
Why do South Texas counties and reservation counties dominate this list?
The pattern is consistent across the top of the list: rural South Texas border counties (Brooks, Zapata, Zavala, Jim Hogg, Duval, and others) and Native American reservation counties (Todd County/Rosebud, Oglala Lakota County/Pine Ridge) show collections rates 2.2 to 2.6 times the national average, generally paired with below-median household income. We report the pattern as it appears in the source data without speculating further on causes.
— US Debt Compass Editorial Team