In Cole County, Missouri, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Cole County, 15.2% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 89% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cole County's score
In Cole County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 41.6. Jobs are the lowest part, at 10.9. About one in eight adults aged 25 to 54 (12.5%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cole 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.
Cole 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.
- 41.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.0% · August 202542nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people110 · 202541st percentile
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- 23.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.3% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.8% · August 202529th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.8% · second quarter of 202628th percentile
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- 23.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.6% · 202419th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.5% · 202420th percentile
- People with a disability13.1% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- People without health insurance5.8% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,881 · 202427th percentile
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- 22.3 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 rent16.6% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.2% · fiscal year 20273rd percentile
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- 10.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202614th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working12.5% · 2020 to 20247th 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 Cole 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 Cole County, 18.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cole County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cole County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 20.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Cole County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20.4%; 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 Cole County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 5.9%
Biggest drop: 2018 to 2019, reaching 8.1%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cole County, Missouri.
How Cole County has changed
Cole County's population had its largest rise, from 54,520 in 1979 to 60,269 in 1984.
Cole County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 77,625, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 77,625. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cole County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Cole County rose 39% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 45,558. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cole County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.6% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.9% | 2024 9.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $31,788 | 2024 $75,881 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Cole County's history
1820
Organized November 16, 1820. Wikipedia
1836
Missouri State Penitentiary opened in 1836. Wikipedia
1866
Lincoln University founded in 1866 by Union Army black veterans. Wikipedia
1994
A tornado in April 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in August 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in May 2019 did $170 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 77,279, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2020
Hail in March 2020 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cole County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cole County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Cole County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cole County ranks 4th of the six; Miller County is highest, at 27.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miller County, MO | 47 | 13.1% | 27.5% |
| Callaway County, MO | 39 | 11.8% | 24.6% |
| Boone County, MO | 22 | 14.3% | 16.7% |
| Moniteau County, MO | 15 | 11.2% | 22.0% |
| 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 Cole County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Cole County's poverty rate was 9.6% in 2024, 101st 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, Cole County ranks 112th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cole 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.
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 Cole County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.