Texas’ statewide poverty rate declines, but several rural counties see increase in poor residents

An influx of highly educated people from other states helped shift the state’s economic fortune. But in many parts of Texas, residents are struggling as jobs dry up.

The number of Texans living in poverty slightly declined during the five-year period ending in 2022, though several rural counties saw their share of poor residents increase, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

An average of 13.9% of Texans lived below the poverty line from 2018 to 2022, down from 16% of Texans in poverty from 2013 to 2017. That decline mirrors a similar reduction in poverty levels nationwide as the share of Americans living in poverty fell from 14.6% to 12.5%.

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Despite the overall reduction in poverty rates statewide, 76 of Texas’ 254 counties experienced an uptick in poverty rates from 2018 to 2022. The vast majority of those counties are rural, with fewer than 50,000 residents. The largest increases occurred in rural counties including King, La Salle, Jeff Davis and Foard. Some of those counties’ poverty rates increased by double-digit margins. Local leaders attributed those increases to unemployment and an aging workforce.