In Boone County, Missouri, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Boone County, 16.1% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Boone County's score
In Boone County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 46.4. Jobs are the lowest part, at 20.1. About one in six adults aged 25 to 54 (15.5%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 81% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Boone 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.
Even so, Boone County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (24.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 46.4 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent24.5% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.1% · fiscal year 20277th percentile
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- 41.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.2% · August 202542nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people108.7 · 202540th percentile
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- 30.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.2% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.6% · August 202541st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score33.2% · second quarter of 202622nd percentile
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- 30.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.3% · 202459th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.8% · 202421st percentile
- People with a disability12.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- People without health insurance5.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$80,041 · 202420th percentile
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- 20.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202621st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.5% · 2020 to 202418th 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 Boone 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 Boone County, 13.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Boone County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Boone County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 16.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Boone County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Boone County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 6.6%
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 7.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Boone County, Missouri.
How Boone County has changed
Boone County's population had its largest rise, from 145,348 in 2004 to 160,565 in 2009.
Boone County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 192,154, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 111,171. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Boone County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Boone County nearly doubled to 100,066, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 75,757. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Boone County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.8% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.8% | 2024 14.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,824 | 2024 $80,041 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Boone County's history
1820
Organized November 16, 1820 from a separated portion of the larger territorial Howard County. Wikipedia
1990
A tornado in November 1990 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A tornado in November 1998 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in September 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
Lightning in June 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 183,610, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Boone County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Boone County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Boone County, five score higher. Of the group, Boone County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Howard County gets the largest, at 29.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audrain County, MO | 64 | 15.4% | 27.2% |
| Randolph County, MO | 51 | 12.8% | 27.9% |
| Callaway County, MO | 39 | 11.8% | 24.6% |
| Howard County, MO | 36 | 11.2% | 29.0% |
| Cooper County, MO | 28 | 11.6% | 26.4% |
| Boone County, MO | 22 | 14.3% | 16.7% |
| Moniteau County, MO | 15 | 11.2% | 22.0% |
| Cole County, MO | 10 | 9.6% | 20.4% |
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 Boone County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Boone County's poverty rate was 14.3% in 2024, 53rd 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, Boone County ranks 101st of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Boone 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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Love Columbia
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Mid-Missouri Legal Services
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.
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 Boone County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.