Benefit checks make up 39 cents of every dollar of income in Dent County, Missouri
In Dent County, 38.8% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 62% of U.S. counties.
What drives Dent County's score
In Dent County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 75.8. Late payments on loans come next, at 70.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Dent 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.
Dent County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.1%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (109.2, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.4% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.6% · 202462nd percentile
- People with a disability20.5% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- People without health insurance15.6% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,798 · 202482nd percentile
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- 70.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.3% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.8% · second quarter of 202674th percentile
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- 52.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.0% · August 202564th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people109.2 · 202540th percentile
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- 50.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202641st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.3% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
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- 40.5 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 rent12.1% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.9% · fiscal year 202761st 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 Dent 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 Dent County, 22.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Dent County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Dent County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 38.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Dent County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.8%; 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 Dent County getting SNAP food aid rose by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 17.0%, with most of the change between 2011 and 2012
High on the chart: 18.2% in 2013. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Dent County, Missouri.
How Dent County has changed
Dent County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 14,721, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
High on the chart: 15,544 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Dent County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Dent County rose most sharply from its first year (3,629 in 1990) to 4,211 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Dent County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 4,302 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Dent County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.8% | 2024 14.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,784 | 2024 $54,798 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Dent County's history
1851
Organized February 10, 1851. Wikipedia
1930
Civilian Conservation Corps camps at Boss and Indian Trail during Great Depression. Wikipedia
1945
Foreign competition wiped out needlework industries after World War II. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 15,657. The 2020 Census counted 14,421, 92% of the peak. Census Bureau
2010
A tornado in December 2010 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flood in May 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A flood in November 2020 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in November 2024 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Dent County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Dent County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Dent County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Dent County ranks 4th of the seven; Iron County is highest, at 47.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron County, MO | 82 | 18.2% | 47.1% |
| Texas County, MO | 77 | 19.3% | 36.5% |
| Reynolds County, MO | 73 | 18.6% | 45.2% |
| Shannon County, MO | 71 | 21.3% | 39.1% |
| Dent County, MO | 62 | 14.4% | 38.8% |
| Crawford County, MO | 59 | 15.1% | 31.9% |
| Phelps County, MO | 52 | 17.1% | 29.2% |
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 Dent County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Dent County's poverty rate was 14.4% in 2024, 51st 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, Dent County ranks 35th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Dent 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 Services of Southern 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 Dent County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.