In Cooper County, Missouri, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Cooper County, 15.6% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 94% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cooper County's score
In Cooper County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 52.5. Jobs are the lowest part, at 27.5. About one in six adults aged 25 to 54 (16.1%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 77% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cooper 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.
Cooper 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.
- 52.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.1% · August 202545th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people147.5 · 202559th percentile
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- 41.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.8% · August 20258th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.2% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.7% · second quarter of 202652nd percentile
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- 40.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.6% · 202436th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.2% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance8.7% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$73,980 · 202431st percentile
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- 28.1 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 rent18.3% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income15.6% · fiscal year 20275th percentile
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- 27.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202632nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.1% · 2020 to 202422nd 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 Cooper 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 Cooper County, 19.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cooper County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cooper County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 26.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Cooper County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.4%; 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 Cooper County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 6.8%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cooper County, Missouri.
How Cooper County has changed
Cooper County's population had its largest rise, from 15,009 in 1989 to 15,905 in 1994.
Cooper County's population rose 15% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 17,564 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cooper County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Cooper County rose most sharply from its first year (4,298 in 1990) to 5,232 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Cooper County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 6,018 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cooper County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.6% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.6% | 2024 11.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,613 | 2024 $73,980 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Cooper County's history
1818
Organized December 17, 1818. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 22,532. The 2020 Census counted 17,103, 76% of the peak. Census Bureau
2015
A flash flood in June 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cooper County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cooper County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Cooper County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cooper County ranks 5th of the seven; Morgan County is highest, at 32.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan County, MO | 80 | 16.4% | 32.8% |
| Pettis County, MO | 64 | 15.7% | 29.6% |
| Saline County, MO | 61 | 15.5% | 29.0% |
| Howard County, MO | 36 | 11.2% | 29.0% |
| Cooper County, MO | 28 | 11.6% | 26.4% |
| Boone County, MO | 22 | 14.3% | 16.7% |
| Moniteau County, MO | 15 | 11.2% | 22.0% |
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 Cooper County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Cooper County's poverty rate was 11.6% in 2024, 88th 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, Cooper County ranks 90th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cooper 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 Cooper 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 Cooper County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.