About one in 11 people in Clinton County, Missouri, lives below the poverty line
In Clinton County, 9.5% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clinton County's score
In Clinton County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 52.6. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 32.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Clinton 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.
Even so, Clinton County is worse off than most counties on rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (23.6%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 52.6 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 rent14.8% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.6% · fiscal year 202775th percentile
-
- 44.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.5% · August 202547th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people111.4 · 202541st percentile
-
- 36.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.3% · August 202565th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.7% · second quarter of 202632nd percentile
-
- 34.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202639th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.4% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
-
- 32.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.5% · 202418th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.4% · 202419th percentile
- People with a disability15.3% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
- People without health insurance8.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,703 · 202422nd percentile
-
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 Clinton 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 Clinton County, 18.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Clinton County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Clinton County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 26.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Clinton County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Clinton County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2019 low, from 8.7% in 2018 to 5.8% in 2019.
The share of households in Clinton County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 5.8% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Clinton County, Missouri.
How Clinton County has changed
Clinton County's population nearly doubled to 21,721, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 14,230. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Clinton County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Clinton County rose by about half to 4,932, the highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2005 to 2010, reaching 3,864. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Clinton County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.7% | 2024 9.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $26,752 | 2024 $78,703 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Clinton County's history
1833
Organized January 2, 1833. Wikipedia
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 21,184, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flood in June 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1965
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clinton County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Clinton County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Clinton County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clinton County ranks 5th of the seven; Caldwell County is highest, at 28.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan County, MO | 71 | 13.5% | 28.7% |
| Ray County, MO | 45 | 9.0% | 26.4% |
| Caldwell County, MO | 43 | 10.9% | 28.9% |
| Clinton County, MO | 33 | 9.5% | 26.0% |
| DeKalb County, MO | 31 | 11.5% | 27.6% |
| 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 Clinton County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Clinton County's poverty rate was 9.5% in 2024, 102nd 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, Clinton County ranks 80th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Clinton 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.
-
Legal Aid of Western Missouri
Legal aid
-
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 Clinton 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 Clinton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.