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Cliff-Zone Families
899,908
Total Wage Suppression
$655.1M
State Avg Cliff Zone
17.7%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In Texas, an estimated 899,908 families across 254 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris County | 4,838,303 | 18.8% | 160,055 | $116.5M | 392% |
| Dallas County | 2,621,179 | 19.9% | 89,848 | $65.4M | 392% |
| Bexar County | 2,067,341 | 19.5% | 66,461 | $48.4M | 394% |
| Tarrant County | 2,167,390 | 16.3% | 58,787 | $42.8M | 392% |
| Hidalgo County | 891,977 | 25.5% | 38,427 | $28.0M | 404% |
| El Paso County | 870,779 | 24.7% | 37,843 | $27.5M | 404% |
| Travis County | 1,330,015 | 11.5% | 23,891 | $17.4M | 392% |
| Fort Bend County | 893,767 | 12.3% | 21,179 | $15.4M | 392% |
| Collin County | 1,163,337 | 9.4% | 19,909 | $14.5M | 392% |
| Cameron County | 426,120 | 25.4% | 18,876 | $13.7M | 404% |
| Denton County | 979,561 | 9.7% | 16,770 | $12.2M | 392% |
| Montgomery County | 684,432 | 13.0% | 16,368 | $11.9M | 392% |
| Bell County | 386,897 | 20.1% | 13,107 | $9.5M | 404% |
| Webb County | 269,294 | 25.8% | 12,978 | $9.4M | 404% |
| Nueces County | 352,955 | 19.2% | 11,314 | $8.2M | 398% |
| Williamson County | 672,688 | 9.8% | 11,309 | $8.2M | 392% |
| Brazoria County | 391,255 | 14.0% | 10,346 | $7.5M | 399% |
| Lubbock County | 318,884 | 19.4% | 10,308 | $7.5M | 404% |
| Galveston County | 358,990 | 14.8% | 7,996 | $5.8M | 392% |
| McLennan County | 266,067 | 18.7% | 7,954 | $5.8M | 404% |
| Jefferson County | 253,878 | 19.4% | 7,379 | $5.4M | 404% |
| Smith County | 241,740 | 19.3% | 6,646 | $4.8M | 400% |
| Hays County | 268,638 | 15.5% | 6,443 | $4.7M | 392% |
| Ector County | 164,654 | 19.1% | 6,314 | $4.6M | 392% |
| Johnson County | 195,597 | 17.7% | 6,168 | $4.5M | 392% |
| Ellis County | 213,160 | 14.7% | 5,823 | $4.2M | 392% |
| Brazos County | 242,311 | 16.5% | 5,730 | $4.2M | 404% |
| Kaufman County | 172,604 | 18.7% | 5,365 | $3.9M | 392% |
| Midland County | 174,801 | 13.5% | 4,728 | $3.4M | 392% |
| Gregg County | 125,480 | 21.7% | 4,697 | $3.4M | 404% |
| Potter County | 115,975 | 24.4% | 4,455 | $3.2M | 404% |
| Grayson County | 143,337 | 19.2% | 4,394 | $3.2M | 399% |
| Taylor County | 145,863 | 19.1% | 4,225 | $3.1M | 404% |
| Guadalupe County | 183,642 | 13.6% | 4,116 | $3.0M | 394% |
| Tom Green County | 119,577 | 21.6% | 4,033 | $2.9M | 400% |
| Bastrop County | 106,582 | 21.8% | 3,700 | $2.7M | 392% |
| Wichita County | 129,996 | 18.7% | 3,618 | $2.6M | 404% |
| Hunt County | 108,972 | 18.8% | 3,439 | $2.5M | 392% |
| Comal County | 183,826 | 11.1% | 3,371 | $2.5M | 394% |
| Liberty County | 103,380 | 23.3% | 3,272 | $2.4M | 392% |
| Angelina County | 87,275 | 23.3% | 3,253 | $2.4M | 404% |
| Randall County | 146,070 | 14.9% | 3,241 | $2.4M | 404% |
| Parker County | 165,168 | 12.4% | 3,204 | $2.3M | 392% |
| Maverick County | 58,082 | 28.1% | 2,803 | $2.0M | 404% |
| Coryell County | 84,748 | 22.7% | 2,802 | $2.0M | 404% |
| Victoria County | 91,413 | 18.1% | 2,725 | $2.0M | 393% |
| Bowie County | 92,115 | 20.0% | 2,707 | $2.0M | 404% |
| Starr County | 66,067 | 28.0% | 2,594 | $1.9M | 404% |
| Orange County | 85,307 | 20.3% | 2,583 | $1.9M | 404% |
| San Patricio County | 70,181 | 22.1% | 2,571 | $1.9M | 398% |
| Henderson County | 84,862 | 20.5% | 2,437 | $1.8M | 404% |
| Harrison County | 70,155 | 19.5% | 2,323 | $1.7M | 404% |
| Walker County | 80,209 | 26.8% | 2,209 | $1.6M | 404% |
| Van Zandt County | 62,649 | 21.0% | 2,068 | $1.5M | 404% |
| Val Verde County | 47,741 | 23.8% | 2,061 | $1.5M | 404% |
| Jim Wells County | 38,850 | 25.9% | 1,956 | $1.4M | 404% |
| Cherokee County | 51,886 | 24.3% | 1,942 | $1.4M | 404% |
| Nacogdoches County | 65,162 | 20.2% | 1,928 | $1.4M | 404% |
| Caldwell County | 48,669 | 21.7% | 1,904 | $1.4M | 392% |
| Wise County | 75,005 | 15.6% | 1,854 | $1.3M | 404% |
| Navarro County | 54,711 | 21.4% | 1,806 | $1.3M | 404% |
| Waller County | 61,552 | 16.9% | 1,716 | $1.2M | 392% |
| Rusk County | 52,842 | 19.0% | 1,657 | $1.2M | 404% |
| Wharton County | 41,794 | 19.5% | 1,605 | $1.2M | 404% |
| Burnet County | 52,652 | 18.3% | 1,583 | $1.2M | 404% |
| Anderson County | 58,439 | 22.8% | 1,566 | $1.1M | 404% |
| Hardin County | 57,642 | 16.7% | 1,531 | $1.1M | 404% |
| Lamar County | 50,669 | 18.6% | 1,464 | $1.1M | 404% |
| Atascosa County | 51,008 | 20.1% | 1,456 | $1.1M | 404% |
| Rockwall County | 123,617 | 7.2% | 1,450 | $1.1M | 392% |
| Matagorda County | 36,329 | 21.6% | 1,429 | $1.0M | 404% |
| Polk County | 52,800 | 20.2% | 1,421 | $1.0M | 404% |
| Medina County | 53,547 | 17.0% | 1,399 | $1.0M | 404% |
| Upshur County | 42,567 | 23.3% | 1,399 | $1.0M | 404% |
| Titus County | 31,363 | 25.7% | 1,386 | $1.0M | 404% |
| Hale County | 32,131 | 26.1% | 1,331 | $969K | 404% |
| Hopkins County | 37,784 | 19.6% | 1,268 | $923K | 404% |
| Erath County | 43,794 | 18.6% | 1,241 | $903K | 404% |
| Shelby County | 24,155 | 27.6% | 1,236 | $900K | 404% |
| Fannin County | 37,326 | 21.9% | 1,235 | $899K | 404% |
| Wilson County | 52,781 | 13.2% | 1,218 | $887K | 394% |
| Hood County | 65,894 | 12.9% | 1,201 | $874K | 395% |
| Brown County | 38,347 | 22.2% | 1,186 | $863K | 404% |
| Wood County | 46,961 | 22.3% | 1,175 | $855K | 404% |
| Gaines County | 22,232 | 31.2% | 1,165 | $848K | 404% |
| Kerr County | 53,489 | 17.3% | 1,134 | $826K | 404% |
| Cooke County | 43,046 | 16.9% | 1,110 | $808K | 404% |
| Hill County | 37,328 | 21.9% | 1,090 | $794K | 404% |
| Cass County | 28,568 | 23.2% | 1,078 | $785K | 404% |
| Bee County | 31,083 | 25.8% | 1,040 | $757K | 404% |
| Deaf Smith County | 18,460 | 25.6% | 1,014 | $738K | 404% |
| Gonzales County | 19,851 | 29.3% | 984 | $716K | 404% |
| Uvalde County | 24,881 | 28.2% | 972 | $708K | 404% |
| Hockley County | 21,363 | 25.3% | 963 | $701K | 404% |
| Jasper County | 32,727 | 20.0% | 958 | $697K | 404% |
| San Jacinto County | 28,441 | 19.8% | 958 | $697K | 404% |
| Gray County | 21,045 | 23.7% | 949 | $691K | 404% |
| Austin County | 31,170 | 18.6% | 948 | $690K | 404% |
| Chambers County | 51,498 | 11.7% | 945 | $688K | 392% |
| Howard County | 32,290 | 18.7% | 943 | $687K | 404% |
| Kleberg County | 30,579 | 14.9% | 896 | $652K | 404% |
| Limestone County | 22,283 | 24.1% | 881 | $641K | 404% |
| Kendall County | 48,567 | 12.7% | 880 | $641K | 392% |
| Moore County | 21,373 | 25.6% | 877 | $638K | 404% |
| Palo Pinto County | 29,295 | 18.7% | 863 | $628K | 404% |
| Terry County | 11,629 | 35.1% | 853 | $621K | 404% |
| Calhoun County | 19,868 | 19.8% | 842 | $613K | 404% |
| Milam County | 25,567 | 18.0% | 804 | $585K | 404% |
| Grimes County | 31,340 | 20.9% | 796 | $579K | 404% |
| Willacy County | 20,139 | 25.6% | 733 | $534K | 404% |
| Freestone County | 20,049 | 24.8% | 724 | $527K | 404% |
| Aransas County | 24,876 | 16.9% | 703 | $512K | 395% |
| Houston County | 22,051 | 23.8% | 702 | $511K | 404% |
| Panola County | 22,726 | 19.6% | 701 | $510K | 404% |
| Lavaca County | 20,552 | 19.8% | 682 | $496K | 404% |
| Washington County | 36,647 | 11.9% | 664 | $483K | 402% |
| Eastland County | 18,011 | 21.7% | 659 | $480K | 404% |
| Bosque County | 18,687 | 20.4% | 654 | $476K | 404% |
| Lee County | 17,971 | 20.1% | 634 | $462K | 404% |
| Tyler County | 20,238 | 23.3% | 625 | $455K | 404% |
| Gillespie County | 27,524 | 14.1% | 603 | $439K | 393% |
| Llano County | 22,424 | 19.3% | 590 | $430K | 404% |
| Nolan County | 14,454 | 25.2% | 588 | $428K | 404% |
| Jones County | 20,304 | 24.3% | 573 | $417K | 404% |
| Scurry County | 16,488 | 23.8% | 572 | $416K | 404% |
| Fayette County | 25,042 | 13.9% | 569 | $414K | 404% |
| Lampasas County | 22,715 | 18.6% | 564 | $411K | 404% |
| Rains County | 12,775 | 24.6% | 563 | $410K | 404% |
| Young County | 18,029 | 16.2% | 559 | $407K | 404% |
| Robertson County | 17,167 | 19.9% | 559 | $407K | 404% |
| Red River County | 11,611 | 29.2% | 557 | $405K | 404% |
| Reeves County | 12,664 | 22.7% | 530 | $386K | 404% |
| Morris County | 12,076 | 24.5% | 529 | $385K | 404% |
| Zapata County | 13,841 | 23.5% | 522 | $380K | 404% |
| Montague County | 21,046 | 19.1% | 521 | $379K | 404% |
| Zavala County | 9,412 | 28.7% | 518 | $377K | 404% |
| Andrews County | 18,610 | 16.2% | 515 | $375K | 394% |
| Falls County | 17,291 | 26.1% | 515 | $375K | 404% |
| Colorado County | 21,006 | 16.2% | 508 | $370K | 404% |
| Newton County | 12,093 | 25.6% | 508 | $370K | 404% |
| Ward County | 11,144 | 19.9% | 498 | $363K | 404% |
| Lamb County | 12,828 | 22.8% | 492 | $358K | 404% |
| Pecos County | 14,896 | 17.1% | 488 | $355K | 404% |
| Leon County | 16,263 | 19.6% | 485 | $353K | 404% |
| DeWitt County | 20,016 | 20.9% | 481 | $350K | 404% |
| Dawson County | 12,134 | 26.8% | 451 | $328K | 404% |
| Burleson County | 18,857 | 13.7% | 449 | $327K | 404% |
| Camp County | 12,798 | 21.8% | 442 | $322K | 404% |
| Hutchinson County | 20,184 | 17.4% | 440 | $320K | 404% |
| Bandera County | 22,021 | 15.9% | 437 | $318K | 394% |
| Castro County | 7,344 | 25.0% | 437 | $318K | 404% |
| Frio County | 18,582 | 16.2% | 427 | $311K | 404% |
| Brewster County | 9,503 | 25.2% | 423 | $308K | 404% |
| Comanche County | 13,950 | 19.9% | 413 | $301K | 404% |
| Jackson County | 15,152 | 14.1% | 407 | $296K | 404% |
| Karnes County | 14,968 | 17.2% | 404 | $294K | 404% |
| Trinity County | 14,046 | 19.5% | 403 | $293K | 404% |
| Callahan County | 14,241 | 18.4% | 382 | $278K | 404% |
| Parmer County | 9,731 | 25.8% | 381 | $277K | 404% |
| Ochiltree County | 9,786 | 22.7% | 355 | $258K | 404% |
| Madison County | 13,648 | 20.4% | 334 | $243K | 404% |
| Runnels County | 9,874 | 23.0% | 329 | $240K | 404% |
| Bailey County | 6,913 | 29.3% | 327 | $238K | 404% |
| Jack County | 8,882 | 24.4% | 326 | $237K | 404% |
| Franklin County | 10,632 | 17.2% | 318 | $232K | 404% |
| Clay County | 10,495 | 17.9% | 313 | $228K | 404% |
| Stephens County | 9,351 | 24.0% | 310 | $226K | 404% |
| Garza County | 5,118 | 35.1% | 303 | $221K | 404% |
| Martin County | 5,218 | 23.3% | 282 | $205K | 392% |
| Wilbarger County | 12,616 | 24.1% | 277 | $202K | 404% |
| Crane County | 4,610 | 34.7% | 275 | $200K | 404% |
| Dimmit County | 8,380 | 21.2% | 270 | $197K | 404% |
| Brooks County | 6,943 | 21.1% | 269 | $196K | 404% |
| Floyd County | 5,216 | 28.5% | 262 | $191K | 404% |
| Winkler County | 7,454 | 15.3% | 257 | $187K | 404% |
| Dallam County | 7,298 | 24.7% | 251 | $183K | 404% |
| Blanco County | 12,446 | 11.8% | 247 | $180K | 404% |
| Mitchell County | 9,018 | 19.8% | 245 | $178K | 404% |
| San Augustine County | 7,874 | 22.5% | 244 | $178K | 404% |
| Swisher County | 6,937 | 28.5% | 243 | $177K | 404% |
| Marion County | 9,737 | 21.1% | 230 | $167K | 404% |
| Somervell County | 9,691 | 16.3% | 226 | $165K | 404% |
| Duval County | 9,742 | 15.2% | 220 | $160K | 404% |
| Sutton County | 3,277 | 29.0% | 220 | $160K | 404% |
| Live Oak County | 11,620 | 19.2% | 217 | $158K | 404% |
| Archer County | 8,867 | 14.8% | 215 | $157K | 404% |
| Wheeler County | 4,862 | 22.2% | 214 | $156K | 404% |
| Goliad County | 7,141 | 25.5% | 212 | $154K | 393% |
| Coleman County | 7,833 | 21.7% | 208 | $151K | 404% |
| Refugio County | 6,707 | 22.4% | 208 | $151K | 404% |
| San Saba County | 5,696 | 25.8% | 207 | $151K | 404% |
| Delta County | 5,438 | 27.3% | 202 | $147K | 404% |
| La Salle County | 6,839 | 22.9% | 199 | $145K | 404% |
| Haskell County | 5,421 | 22.1% | 188 | $137K | 404% |
| Reagan County | 3,232 | 28.8% | 183 | $133K | 404% |
| Sabine County | 10,023 | 16.6% | 182 | $132K | 404% |
| McCulloch County | 7,514 | 20.7% | 182 | $132K | 404% |
| Upton County | 3,191 | 26.5% | 178 | $130K | 404% |
| Lynn County | 5,752 | 19.3% | 177 | $129K | 404% |
| Mills County | 4,511 | 20.9% | 171 | $124K | 404% |
| Yoakum County | 7,571 | 11.0% | 163 | $119K | 404% |
| Hansford County | 5,119 | 25.5% | 163 | $119K | 404% |
| Cochran County | 2,550 | 32.1% | 158 | $115K | 404% |
| Presidio County | 5,930 | 27.2% | 155 | $113K | 404% |
| Baylor County | 3,485 | 28.2% | 154 | $112K | 404% |
| Knox County | 3,307 | 27.7% | 154 | $112K | 404% |
| Crosby County | 5,041 | 20.6% | 153 | $111K | 404% |
| Hall County | 2,820 | 29.2% | 146 | $106K | 404% |
| Coke County | 3,353 | 27.1% | 144 | $105K | 404% |
| Hamilton County | 8,406 | 20.5% | 141 | $103K | 404% |
| Childress County | 6,743 | 15.3% | 138 | $100K | 404% |
| Mason County | 3,955 | 19.0% | 130 | $95K | 404% |
| Fisher County | 3,655 | 18.7% | 130 | $95K | 404% |
| Carson County | 5,801 | 17.3% | 128 | $93K | 404% |
| Kimble County | 4,389 | 20.0% | 128 | $93K | 404% |
| Crockett County | 2,822 | 20.3% | 128 | $93K | 404% |
| Hartley County | 5,215 | 11.3% | 116 | $84K | 404% |
| Hemphill County | 3,234 | 28.4% | 115 | $84K | 404% |
| Hudspeth County | 3,403 | 36.0% | 109 | $79K | 404% |
| Lipscomb County | 2,918 | 23.2% | 103 | $75K | 404% |
| Jim Hogg County | 4,727 | 27.7% | 102 | $74K | 404% |
| Culberson County | 2,195 | 36.4% | 95 | $69K | 404% |
| Donley County | 3,257 | 23.3% | 88 | $64K | 404% |
| Shackelford County | 3,175 | 16.8% | 85 | $62K | 404% |
| Hardeman County | 3,501 | 16.0% | 84 | $61K | 404% |
| Sherman County | 2,295 | 23.1% | 80 | $58K | 404% |
| Concho County | 3,328 | 23.0% | 66 | $48K | 404% |
| Schleicher County | 2,381 | 16.1% | 64 | $47K | 404% |
| Oldham County | 2,249 | 15.7% | 57 | $41K | 404% |
| Motley County | 1,183 | 26.2% | 57 | $41K | 404% |
| Armstrong County | 1,822 | 19.5% | 56 | $41K | 404% |
| Real County | 2,802 | 21.0% | 55 | $40K | 404% |
| Sterling County | 1,468 | 23.3% | 55 | $40K | 404% |
| Dickens County | 1,747 | 22.8% | 53 | $39K | 404% |
| Briscoe County | 1,301 | 25.2% | 50 | $36K | 404% |
| McMullen County | 700 | 53.0% | 48 | $35K | 404% |
| Stonewall County | 1,227 | 24.6% | 47 | $34K | 404% |
| Irion County | 1,409 | 12.6% | 40 | $29K | 400% |
| Menard County | 1,955 | 15.2% | 38 | $28K | 404% |
| Glasscock County | 1,068 | 14.9% | 37 | $27K | 404% |
| Collingsworth County | 2,588 | 9.8% | 35 | $25K | 404% |
| Foard County | 991 | 19.3% | 35 | $25K | 404% |
| Kinney County | 3,157 | 24.0% | 32 | $23K | 404% |
| Borden County | 713 | 21.7% | 31 | $23K | 404% |
| Cottle County | 1,368 | 27.1% | 28 | $20K | 404% |
| Terrell County | 835 | 21.9% | 28 | $20K | 404% |
| Throckmorton County | 1,639 | 16.7% | 27 | $20K | 404% |
| Jeff Davis County | 1,865 | 10.6% | 21 | $15K | 404% |
| King County | 211 | 26.5% | 21 | $15K | 404% |
| Edwards County | 1,290 | 10.0% | 20 | $15K | 404% |
| Roberts County | 832 | 13.3% | 17 | $12K | 404% |
| Kenedy County | 145 | 65.3% | 16 | $12K | 404% |
| Kent County | 734 | 14.9% | 14 | $10K | 404% |
| Loving County | 33 | 6.1% | 1 | $1K | 404% |
254 of 254 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.