About one in 11 people in Franklin County, Missouri, lives below the poverty line
In Franklin County, 9.0% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 85% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Franklin County's score
In Franklin County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 50.8. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 26.5. About one in 10 children (10.0%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a lower share than in 86% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Franklin 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.
Franklin 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.
- 50.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.5% · August 202547th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people135.3 · 202554th percentile
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- 49.6 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 rent16.7% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.4% · fiscal year 202757th percentile
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- 38.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.7% · August 202536th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.8% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.4% · second quarter of 202634th percentile
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- 32.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202633rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.7% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
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- 26.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.0% · 202415th percentile
- Children below the poverty line10.0% · 202413th percentile
- People with a disability14.4% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- People without health insurance6.9% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,569 · 202428th 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County, 19.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Franklin County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Franklin County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 24.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Franklin County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.0%; 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 Franklin County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 7.1%
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 7.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Franklin County, Missouri.
How Franklin County has changed
Franklin County's population had its largest rise, from 55,941 in 1969 to 64,325 in 1974.
Franklin County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 107,256, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 102,055. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Franklin County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Franklin County rose 45% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 31,550. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Franklin County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.1% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.2% | 2024 9.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,114 | 2024 $75,569 |
The table uses 3.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Franklin County's history
1818
Organized December 11, 1818. Wikipedia
1996
A thunderstorm in August 1996 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A thunderstorm in August 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A flash flood in May 2000 did $100 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
Franklin County experienced severe problems with methamphetamine production explored in 2005 A&E documentary. Wikipedia
2015
A flood in December 2015 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 104,682, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Franklin County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Franklin County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Franklin County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Franklin County ranks 4th of the eight; Washington County is highest, at 38.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County, MO | 81 | 18.0% | 38.7% |
| Crawford County, MO | 59 | 15.1% | 31.9% |
| St. Louis County, MO | 40 | 9.8% | 13.1% |
| Gasconade County, MO | 31 | 12.1% | 32.0% |
| Franklin County, MO | 31 | 9.0% | 24.0% |
| Jefferson County, MO | 27 | 9.3% | 21.9% |
| Warren County, MO | 25 | 8.0% | 22.9% |
| St. Charles County, MO | 7 | 6.3% | 15.6% |
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 Franklin County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Franklin County's poverty rate was 9.0% in 2024, 104th 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, Franklin County ranks 85th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Franklin 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 Eastern 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.