Butler County, Missouri

County Distress Index: Serious · 67.7 | 41,948 people · 11th most distressed in Missouri

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Butler County, MO shows significant household financial distress with a score of 67.7 — 330th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Community Vulnerability, where uninsured and disability rates are well above the national average. Within Missouri, it ranks 11th of 115 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 4 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Butler County's primary driver is Community Vulnerability at 87.8 — worse than roughly 88% of U.S. counties.

Community Vulnerability Primary driver 87.8
Uninsured Rate 83
Disability Rate 93
Income & Poverty 80.7
Poverty Rate 80
Income vs. State Median 83
Child Poverty Rate 79
Debt & Delinquency 63.6
Debt in Collections 89
Medical Debt 87
Student Loan Delinquency 3
Auto Loan Delinquency 56
Credit Card Delinquency 71
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 75
Housing Cost Burden 60.7
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 64
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 37
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 57
Homeownership Rate 84
Rent-to-Income Ratio 62
Employment & Wages 45.5
Unemployment Rate 61
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 33
Business Formation Rate 43

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Butler County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Butler County
Butler County, MO 67.7 Serious
Wayne County, MO 80.2 Crisis +12.6
Dunklin County, MO 79.7 Serious +12.1
Ripley County, MO 77.0 Serious +9.3
Carter County, MO 71.9 Serious +4.2
Clay County, AR 63.7 Elevated -4.0
Stoddard County, MO 57.8 Elevated -9.9

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Butler County
Whitley County, KY 67.7 Serious +0.0
Jefferson County, GA 67.7 Serious +0.0
Carroll County, TN 67.6 Serious -0.0
Wayne County, GA 67.7 Serious +0.1
Pike County, OH 67.6 Serious -0.1

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