About one in four people with a credit file in Buchanan County, Missouri, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Buchanan County, 29.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector (Urban Institute, Debt in America, August 2025). That is higher than in 71% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Buchanan County's score
In Buchanan County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 72.3. People with a car or retail loan behind: 9.3%, August 2025, higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 67.8.
The County Distress Index combines five things we measure for every county: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each gets a score from 0 to 100; the higher the score, the worse off the county is compared with others.
Buchanan County does better than most counties on two measures: children below the poverty line (15.9%, 2024) and unemployment rate, 12-month average (3.9%, Sep 2025 to Aug 2026).
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Buchanan County ranks among all 3,144 U.S. counties on that measure, as a percentile: the share of counties it is higher than. A longer bar means more trouble.
- 72.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.3% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a credit card behind5.9% · August 202556th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score28.7% · Q4 202570th percentile
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- 67.8 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent24.4% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
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- 66.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.1% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people153.1 · 202560th percentile
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- 59.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line15.9% · 202443rd percentile
- People with a disability18.3% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,736 · 202458th percentile
- People below the poverty line13.5% · 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance11.2% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
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- 47.4 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.3% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average3.9% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202647th percentile
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Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
Where the money in Buchanan County comes from
The Bureau of Economic Analysis adds up all the income that reaches the people of a county and splits it three ways: pay from work, income from investments and rent, and benefit checks.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Buchanan County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Buchanan County in 2024, pay from work was 57 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 15 cents. Benefit checks were 29 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 11 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Buchanan County, benefit checks rose from 11 to 29 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Buchanan County, Missouri: 28.7% and 56.6% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 28.7% of all personal income in Buchanan County, Missouri (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC4).
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 Buchanan County, 17.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How Buchanan County has changed
The number of people living in Buchanan County stayed about the same between 1969 and 2024, from 88,131 to 83,574. The number of jobs located there grew by about 19% from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 6.9% in 1990 to 4.2% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 88,131 | 2024 83,574 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 38,403 | 2024 45,842 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.3% | 2024 13.5% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $24,288 | 2024 $63,736 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 11.1% | 2024 28.7% |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices. We don't chart the distress score over time because it compares counties at one moment.
Dated events in Buchanan County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 121,838. The 2020 Census counted 84,793, 70% of the peak. Census Bureau
1838
Founded December 31, 1838 as Roberts County. Wikipedia
1973
Tornado: $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
Flash flood: one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
Thunderstorm wind: $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Buchanan County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Buchanan County beside its neighbors
Buchanan County scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Missouri and Kansas. Of the group, Buchanan County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (28.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan County, MO | 71 | 13.5% | 28.7% |
| Clinton County, MO | 34 | 9.5% | 26.0% |
| Atchison County, KS | 31 | 13.9% | 26.9% |
| DeKalb County, MO | 30 | 11.5% | 27.6% |
| Doniphan County, KS | 29 | 10.6% | 25.2% |
| Platte County, MO | 17 | 5.5% | 13.6% |
| Andrew County, MO | 10 | 7.8% | 18.8% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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 Buchanan County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Buchanan County's poverty rate was 13.5% in 2024, 67th 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, Buchanan County ranks 23rd of 115 in the state.
Buchanan County in photographs
Places in Buchanan County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
The w:Buchanan County, Missouri courthouse in downtown w:Saint Joseph, Missouri.
Photo: Tim Kiser ( w:User:Malepheasant ) via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5
Buchanan County, Missouri: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Buchanan County, Missouri?
13.5% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in seven people. Among children it was 15.9%.
Is Buchanan County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Buchanan County's poverty rate was 13.5% in 2024, 67th 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, Buchanan County ranks 23rd of 115 in the state.
What is the population of Buchanan County, Missouri?
About 83,574 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 84,793, 70% of the county's peak of 121,838 in 1900.
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
We rank every U.S. county on 14 federal measures of money trouble, grouped into five equally weighted parts, and average them. The published score is the share of the other 3,143 counties with a lower average. The methodology lists every measure and its source.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Buchanan County
A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved housing counselor works at a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The counseling to avoid foreclosure is free, and a counselor can help you talk to your mortgage company and understand what it offers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection BureauSourceCFPB.
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The Legal Aid and Defender Association (LAD)
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Counseling to avoid foreclosure is free. Our help directory lists 1,311 approved agencies 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 Buchanan County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Buchanan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.