Unemployment in Callaway County, Missouri, is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties
In Callaway County, 3.2% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives Callaway County's score
In Callaway County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 56.5. Jobs are the lowest part, at 27.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Callaway 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.
Callaway County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 56.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.7% · August 202555th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people143.1 · 202557th percentile
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- 48.6 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 rent21.2% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.8% · fiscal year 202729th percentile
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- 44.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.3% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.7% · August 202557th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.9% · second quarter of 202645th percentile
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- 43.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.8% · 202438th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.1% · 202439th percentile
- People with a disability15.7% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- People without health insurance8.4% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$71,868 · 202436th percentile
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- 27.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202618th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.6% · 2020 to 202436th 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 Callaway 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 Callaway County, 17.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Callaway County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Callaway County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Callaway County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Callaway County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.7% in 2019 to 9.4% in 2020.
The share of households in Callaway County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 8.2% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Callaway County, Missouri.
How Callaway County has changed
Callaway County's population nearly doubled to 45,126, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 40,074. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Callaway County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Callaway County rose by about a quarter to 14,759, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 14,759 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Callaway County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.7% | 2024 11.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,556 | 2024 $71,868 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Callaway County's history
2001
A tornado in April 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 44,332. The 2020 Census counted 44,283, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
2014
Lightning in August 2014 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in June 2019 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Callaway County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Callaway County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Callaway County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Callaway County ranks 3rd of the six; Montgomery County is highest, at 27.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audrain County, MO | 64 | 15.4% | 27.2% |
| Callaway County, MO | 39 | 11.8% | 24.6% |
| Montgomery County, MO | 38 | 12.2% | 27.6% |
| Boone County, MO | 22 | 14.3% | 16.7% |
| Cole County, MO | 10 | 9.6% | 20.4% |
| Osage County, MO | 3 | 7.7% | 19.5% |
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 Callaway County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Callaway County's poverty rate was 11.8% in 2024, 85th 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, Callaway County ranks 69th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Callaway 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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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.
Download the CSV for Callaway 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 Callaway County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.