In Clay County, Missouri, benefit checks make up only 17 cents of every dollar of income
In Clay County, 17.3% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clay County's score
In Clay County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 55.8. Jobs are the lowest part, at 21.7. About one in seven adults aged 25 to 54 (15.2%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 83% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clay 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.
Clay 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.
- 55.8 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent19.4% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.1% · fiscal year 202754th percentile
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- 55.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.0% · August 202542nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people172.8 · 202567th percentile
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- 40.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.4% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.7% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.9% · second quarter of 202629th percentile
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- 22.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.9% · 202414th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.6% · 202411th percentile
- People with a disability13.3% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$88,044 · 202412th percentile
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- 21.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202626th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.2% · 2020 to 202416th 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 Clay 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 Clay County, 15.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Clay County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Clay County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 17.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Clay County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 17.3%; 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 Clay County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
Biggest drop: 2015 to 2016, reaching 7.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Clay County, Missouri.
How Clay County has changed
Clay County's population had its largest rise, from 196,718 in 2004 to 219,669 in 2009.
Clay County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 263,370, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 139,070. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clay County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Clay County had its largest rise, from 64,124 in 1990 to 75,802 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Clay County nearly doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 110,830, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 86,652. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clay County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 5.2% | 2024 8.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $35,092 | 2024 $88,044 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Clay County's history
1822
Organized January 2, 1822. Wikipedia
1836
Mormon settlers driven from Clay County by mobs and militia in 1836. Wikipedia
2000
A tornado in May 2000 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in May 2003 did $60 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in May 2003 did $31 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in May 2008 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 253,335, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clay County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clay County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Clay County, in Missouri and Kansas, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clay County ranks 5th of the six; Ray County is highest, at 26.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyandotte County, KS | 89 | 15.0% | 25.8% |
| Jackson County, MO | 72 | 14.3% | 21.1% |
| Ray County, MO | 45 | 9.0% | 26.4% |
| Clinton County, MO | 33 | 9.5% | 26.0% |
| Clay County, MO | 30 | 8.9% | 17.3% |
| Platte County, MO | 16 | 5.5% | 13.6% |
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 Clay County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Clay County's poverty rate was 8.9% in 2024, 106th 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, Clay County ranks 88th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clay 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 Aid of Western 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 Clay County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.