About one in four people in Butler County, Missouri, has a disability
In Butler County, 24.3% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Butler County's score
In Butler County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 89.7. Jobs come next, at 82.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Butler 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.
Butler County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 89.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.3% · 202488th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.8% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability24.3% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- People without health insurance13.0% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,191 · 202494th percentile
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- 82.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202676th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.4% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
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- 82.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.7% · August 202589th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people200.2 · 202574th percentile
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- 71.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.6% · August 202556th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.5% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
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- 66.9 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 rent19.1% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.0% · fiscal year 202777th 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 Butler 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 Butler County, 19.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Butler County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Butler County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 38.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Butler County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Butler County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2023 low, from 21.6% in 2022 to 19.7% in 2023.
The share of households in Butler County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 20.3%
Low on the chart: 19.7% 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, Butler County, Missouri.
How Butler County has changed
Butler County's population had its largest rise, from 34,187 in 1969 to 36,079 in 1974.
Butler County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41,814
High on the chart: 42,781 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Butler County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Butler County rose most sharply from its first year (13,420 in 1990) to 15,931 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Butler County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 20,065 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Butler County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.6% | 2025 5.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.8% | 2024 20.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,170 | 2024 $48,191 |
The table uses 5.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Butler County's history
2002
A tornado in April 2002 did $30 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A thunderstorm in May 2009 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in October 2009 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 42,794. The 2020 Census counted 42,130, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2025
A tornado in March 2025 did $15 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Butler County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Butler County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Butler County, in Missouri and Arkansas, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Butler County ranks 5th of the seven; Wayne County is highest, at 47.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, MO | 97 | 19.6% | 47.6% |
| Dunklin County, MO | 96 | 25.4% | 41.3% |
| Ripley County, MO | 96 | 21.9% | 44.8% |
| Butler County, MO | 93 | 20.3% | 38.2% |
| Carter County, MO | 81 | 17.1% | 40.8% |
| Clay County, AR | 76 | 15.9% | 36.8% |
| Stoddard County, MO | 70 | 14.8% | 34.9% |
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 Butler County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Butler County's poverty rate was 20.3% in 2024, 8th 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, Butler County ranks 7th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Butler 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 Butler 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 Butler County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.