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Financial Wellbeing

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Though financial support during the pandemic provided important relief, many Texans continue to struggle in the current economy. The Texas economy is improving from a high of 12.9% unemployment in April 2020. From September 2020 to September 2021, 711,500 nonfarm jobs were added and the unemployment rate decreased to 5.6% as of September 2021. Despite these important improvements, data show that many Texans continue to face barriers to financial wellbeing.

Detailed Financial Wellbeing Statistics

  • 13.6% of Texans have income below the federal poverty level, higher than the national poverty rate of 11.4%. (2019)

  • The median household income for Texas households is $64,034, lower than the national median of $65,712.

  • 30% of Texas households are considered “ALICE”. ALICE--Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed-- represents households that are above the Federal Poverty Level but that do not earn enough income to afford basic necessities. (2018)

  • 19% of Texas adults were found to have “low” and “very low” financial wellbeing scores. (2018)

  • 14.6% of Texas households reported falling behind on bill payments in the last 12 months. (2017)

  • 15% of Texas households have zero or negative net worth (debt is greater than assets). (2016)

Financial Services

  • 7.7% of Texans were unbanked (no bank account) compared to 5.4% of U.S. households. (2019)

  • Black and Latino households represent 74% of Texas households using payday loans and 71% of those using auto title loans. (2019)

Savings

  • ​42.2% of Texas households were found to not have adequate liquid savings to cover 3 months' worth of basic expenses due to a financial crisis leading to a loss of stable income. (2016)

  • 55.4% of Texas households reported setting aside money for unexpected expenses and emergencies in the past 12 months. (2017)

Credit

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  • Texans struggle to improve their credit - with 56.4% considered subprime - nearly 10 points above the national average of 47% with subprime credit. (2018)

  • 31.3% of Texas credit users do not have access to revolving credit (credit cards or home equity lines of credit). (2018)

  • 30.2% of Texas consumers with credit card debt have outstanding debt over 75% of the limit. (2018)

Debt Collection

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  • 20.9% of Texas consumers have severely delinquent debt that is with at least one account that is past due. (2018) 

  • 41% of Texas consumers have a debt in collections, with medical debt at 23% and student loan debt at 15%. (2020)

  • 65% of justice court debt collection judgments in 2020 were default judgments (when a judge rules in favor of the debt collector’s lawsuit due to the defendant failing to appear in court). (2020)

  • 28% (an increase of 3% from 2019) of all new civil cases filed in Texas in 2020 were debt collection cases.

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