About one in 13 people in Andrew County, Missouri, lives below the poverty line
In Andrew County, 7.8% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 93% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Andrew County's score
In Andrew County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 43.4. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 9.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Andrew County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Andrew County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 43.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector18.3% · August 202531st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people137.9 · 202555th percentile
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- 28.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.1% · August 202526th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.8% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.7% · second quarter of 202614th percentile
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- 21.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.8% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
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- 15.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.8% · 20247th percentile
- Children below the poverty line8.9% · 20249th percentile
- People with a disability11.2% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- People without health insurance5.7% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,305 · 202422nd percentile
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- 9.6 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent7.2% · 2020 to 20246th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.9% · fiscal year 202712th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Andrew County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Andrew County, 21.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Andrew County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Andrew County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 18.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than three times as much as benefit checks
In Andrew County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Andrew County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 7.1% in 2013 to 8.3% in 2014.
The share of households in Andrew County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 4.9%
Biggest drop: 2014 to 2015, reaching 7.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Andrew County, Missouri.
How Andrew County has changed
Andrew County's population had its largest rise, from 12,044 in 1969 to 12,980 in 1974.
Andrew County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 18,091
High on the chart: 18,160 in 2019. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Andrew County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Andrew County rose by about half to 2,850, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 2,850. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Andrew County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.8% | 2024 7.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,350 | 2024 $78,305 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Andrew County's history
1863
Guerrilla bands overran Andrew County during Civil War period through 1863. Wikipedia
1994
A tornado in June 1994 did $5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 18,135, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Andrew County, 23 of them for flooding. FEMA
Andrew County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Andrew County, in Missouri and Kansas, score higher than it does. Of the group, Andrew County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Gentry County gets the largest, at 32.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan County, MO | 71 | 13.5% | 28.7% |
| DeKalb County, MO | 31 | 11.5% | 27.6% |
| Doniphan County, KS | 30 | 10.6% | 25.2% |
| Gentry County, MO | 28 | 13.8% | 32.8% |
| Holt County, MO | 22 | 12.7% | 24.0% |
| Nodaway County, MO | 18 | 15.0% | 27.6% |
| Andrew County, MO | 8 | 7.8% | 18.8% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Andrew County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Andrew County's poverty rate was 7.8% in 2024, 111th highest of 115 in Missouri (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Dunklin County, at 25.4%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Andrew County ranks 113th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Andrew County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Legal Aid of Western Missouri
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Andrew County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Andrew County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.