Financial Wellbeing for Texans
Though public and charitable financial supports 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.
Financial Wellbeing Statistics
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13.6% of Texans have income below the federal poverty level, higher than the national poverty rate of 11.4%. (2019)
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The median household income for Texas households is $64,034, lower than the national median of $65,712.
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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)
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19% of Texas adults were found to have “low” and “very low” financial wellbeing scores. (2018)
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36% of Texas households report difficulty paying for usual household expenses. (Jan-Feb. 2022)
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31% of Texas households relied on credit cards or loans to meet spending needs. (Jan.-Feb. 2022)
Financial Services
Savings
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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)
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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)
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31.3% of Texas credit users do not have access to revolving credit (credit cards or home equity lines of credit). (2018)
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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)
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41% of Texas consumers have a debt in collections, with medical debt at 23% and student loan debt at 15%. (2020)
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65% of Texas 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)
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28% (an increase of 3% from 2019) of all new civil cases filed in Texas in 2020 were debt collection cases.