Benefit checks make up 41 cents of every dollar of income in Cedar County, Missouri
In Cedar County, 41.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cedar County's score
In Cedar County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 79.8. About one in seven people (14.8%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a higher share than in 88% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 66.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cedar 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.
Cedar County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (47.7, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 79.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.5% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.2% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability19.0% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance14.8% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,079 · 202486th percentile
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- 66.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202655th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.5% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 63.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.1% · August 202583rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.5% · second quarter of 202661st percentile
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- 42.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.6% · August 202575th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people47.7 · 20258th percentile
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- 38.6 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 rent11.4% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.8% · fiscal year 202760th 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 Cedar 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 Cedar County, 23.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cedar County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Cedar County had its largest rise, from 30.9% in 2004 to 36.1% in 2009.
In Cedar County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 41.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Cedar County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41.3%; 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 Cedar County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2009 to 2010, reaching 14.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cedar County, Missouri.
How Cedar County has changed
Cedar County's population rose by more than half to 15,023, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 10,714. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cedar County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Cedar County rose by about a quarter to 3,575, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 3,575. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cedar County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.5% | 2024 16.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,145 | 2024 $53,079 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Cedar County's history
1845
Founded February 14, 1845. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 16,923. The 2020 Census counted 14,188, 84% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
A tornado in March 1982 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in May 2003 did $40 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A tornado in March 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2026
Hail in April 2026 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cedar County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cedar County beside its neighbors
Cedar County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Cedar County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (41.3%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar County, MO | 62 | 16.5% | 41.3% |
| Barton County, MO | 58 | 13.7% | 30.4% |
| Vernon County, MO | 57 | 14.9% | 35.2% |
| St. Clair County, MO | 54 | 16.0% | 40.0% |
| Polk County, MO | 48 | 15.2% | 29.9% |
| Dade County, MO | 43 | 13.5% | 32.1% |
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 Cedar County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Cedar County's poverty rate was 16.5% in 2024, 26th 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, Cedar County ranks 36th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cedar 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.
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 Cedar County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.