Unemployment in Atchison County, Missouri, is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties
In Atchison County, 2.8% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Atchison County's score
In Atchison County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 57.5. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 19.2. About one in 11 renters (9.1%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Atchison 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.
Atchison 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.
- 57.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.1% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.4% · 202440th percentile
- People with a disability17.9% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance11.2% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,928 · 202464th percentile
-
- 33.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20269th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.7% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
-
- 29.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector13.4% · August 202512th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people117.5 · 202545th percentile
-
- 24.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.2% · August 202513th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.2% · August 202518th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.1% · second quarter of 202642nd percentile
-
- 19.2 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 rent9.1% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.6% · fiscal year 202728th percentile
-
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 Atchison 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 Atchison County, 25.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Atchison County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Atchison County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 28.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Atchison County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Atchison County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 9.5% in 2011 to 8.3% in 2012.
The share of households in Atchison County getting SNAP food aid fell by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 5.8%
Low on the chart: 5.7% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Atchison County, Missouri.
How Atchison County has changed
Atchison County's population had its largest drop, from 8,528 in 1984 to 7,625 in 1989.
Atchison County's population fell by about half to 5,139, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 9,655 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Atchison County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Atchison County had its largest drop, from 1,982 in 2000 to 1,774 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Atchison County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2020, reaching 1,646, then turned up in 2025
High on the chart: 2,180 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Atchison County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.1% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.3% | 2024 12.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,967 | 2024 $61,928 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 2.8% 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 Atchison County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 16,501. The 2020 Census counted 5,305, 32% of the peak. Census Bureau
2007
A flood in May 2007 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1965
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Atchison County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Atchison County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Atchison County, in Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Atchison County ranks 3rd of the seven; Page County is highest, at 30.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page County, IA | 22 | 14.5% | 30.5% |
| Holt County, MO | 22 | 12.7% | 24.0% |
| Atchison County, MO | 20 | 12.1% | 28.0% |
| Nemaha County, NE | 18 | 11.7% | 24.5% |
| Nodaway County, MO | 18 | 15.0% | 27.6% |
| Fremont County, IA | 10 | 10.2% | 29.7% |
| Otoe County, NE | 4 | 8.0% | 22.4% |
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 Atchison County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Atchison County's poverty rate was 12.1% in 2024, 81st 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, Atchison County ranks 105th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Atchison 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.
-
Legal Aid of Western Missouri
Legal aid
-
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 Atchison 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 Atchison County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.