Benefit checks make up 36 cents of every dollar of income in Bollinger County, Missouri
In Bollinger County, 35.6% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bollinger County's score
In Bollinger County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 73.2. People with a credit card behind: 9.5%, August 2025, higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 66.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bollinger 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.
Bollinger County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.3%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.6%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.5% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score41.4% · second quarter of 202654th percentile
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- 66.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.0% · August 202560th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people189.7 · 202572nd percentile
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- 60.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.5% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.0% · 202464th percentile
- People with a disability19.4% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- People without health insurance7.3% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,175 · 202454th percentile
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- 40.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202630th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.6% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
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- 23.9 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 rent12.3% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.6% · fiscal year 202727th 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 Bollinger 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 Bollinger County, 21.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bollinger County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Bollinger County had its largest rise, from 26.6% in 2004 to 33.2% in 2009.
In Bollinger County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 35.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Bollinger County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bollinger County getting SNAP food aid fell most in two steps: 17.1% in 2020 to 14.6% in 2021; 13.9% in 2022 to 11.4% in 2023.
The share of households in Bollinger County getting SNAP food aid fell by about half to 9.2%, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 20.5% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bollinger County, Missouri.
How Bollinger County has changed
Bollinger County's population had its largest drop, from 11,749 in 2014 to 10,686 in 2019.
Bollinger County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2004 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 12,427 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bollinger County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Bollinger County rose most sharply from its first year (1,640 in 1990) to 1,811 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Bollinger County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 1,974 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bollinger County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.8% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.7% | 2024 14.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,210 | 2024 $65,175 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Bollinger County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 14,650. The 2020 Census counted 10,567, 72% of the peak. Census Bureau
2008
A flood in March 2008 did $4.8 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flash flood in November 2019 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A tornado in April 2023 did $2 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A flash flood in August 2023 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bollinger County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bollinger County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Bollinger County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bollinger County ranks 3rd of the six; Wayne County is highest, at 47.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, MO | 97 | 19.6% | 47.6% |
| Madison County, MO | 72 | 15.1% | 41.7% |
| Stoddard County, MO | 70 | 14.8% | 34.9% |
| Bollinger County, MO | 54 | 14.5% | 35.6% |
| Cape Girardeau County, MO | 38 | 12.4% | 23.0% |
| Perry County, MO | 28 | 11.5% | 27.0% |
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 Bollinger County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Bollinger County's poverty rate was 14.5% in 2024, 50th 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, Bollinger County ranks 49th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bollinger 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 Services of Southern 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 Bollinger 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 Bollinger County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.