About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in DeKalb County, Missouri, have a job
In DeKalb County, 13.8% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives DeKalb County's score
In DeKalb County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 54.5. Jobs are the lowest part, at 29.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in DeKalb 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, DeKalb County is worse off than most counties on people with a car or retail loan behind (8.6%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 54.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.3% · August 202530th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.6% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.3% · second quarter of 202646th percentile
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- 41.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.5% · 202435th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.0% · 202427th percentile
- People with a disability15.9% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- People without health insurance6.7% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$64,148 · 202457th percentile
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- 40.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.5% · August 202539th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people111.1 · 202541st percentile
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- 29.8 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 rent9.2% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.6% · fiscal year 202749th percentile
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- 29.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202647th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working13.8% · 2020 to 202411th 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 DeKalb 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 DeKalb County, 19.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
DeKalb County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In DeKalb County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 27.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In DeKalb County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in DeKalb County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.6% in 2022 to 7.8% in 2023.
The share of households in DeKalb County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2022 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 7.3% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, DeKalb County, Missouri.
How DeKalb County has changed
DeKalb County's population had its largest drop, from 12,606 in 2014 to 10,910 in 2019.
DeKalb County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 12,825 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, DeKalb County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in DeKalb County had its largest drop, from 3,543 in 2015 to 2,777 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in DeKalb County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 3,543 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, DeKalb County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.2% | 2024 11.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,680 | 2024 $64,148 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 DeKalb County's history
1845
Organized February 25, 1845. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 14,418. The 2020 Census counted 11,029, 76% of the peak. Census Bureau
2004
A tornado in May 2004 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered DeKalb County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
DeKalb County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border DeKalb County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, DeKalb County ranks 5th of the seven; Gentry County is highest, at 32.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan County, MO | 71 | 13.5% | 28.7% |
| Caldwell County, MO | 43 | 10.9% | 28.9% |
| Clinton County, MO | 33 | 9.5% | 26.0% |
| DeKalb County, MO | 31 | 11.5% | 27.6% |
| Gentry County, MO | 28 | 13.8% | 32.8% |
| Daviess County, MO | 22 | 13.7% | 29.1% |
| Andrew County, MO | 8 | 7.8% | 18.8% |
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 DeKalb County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, DeKalb County's poverty rate was 11.5% in 2024, 90th 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, DeKalb County ranks 86th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in DeKalb 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.
Download the CSV for DeKalb 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 DeKalb County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.