Hickory County, Missouri

County Distress Index: Serious · 70.6 | 8,718 people · 8th most distressed in Missouri

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Hickory County, MO shows significant household financial distress with a score of 70.6 — 183rd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within Missouri, it ranks 8th of 115 counties. It scores higher than all 5 of its neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Hickory County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 81.9 — worse than roughly 82% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 81.9
Poverty Rate 76
Income vs. State Median 83
Child Poverty Rate 87
Community Vulnerability 80.9
Uninsured Rate 67
Disability Rate 95
Employment & Wages 68.2
Unemployment Rate 87
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 77
Business Formation Rate 40
Debt & Delinquency 65.9
Debt in Collections 68
Medical Debt 92
Student Loan Delinquency 59
Auto Loan Delinquency 78
Credit Card Delinquency 67
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 32
Housing Cost Burden 56.1
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 88
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 95
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 34
Homeownership Rate 5
Rent-to-Income Ratio 59

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Hickory County compares to its 5 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Hickory County
Hickory County, MO 70.6 Serious
Benton County, MO 66.1 Serious -4.5
St. Clair County, MO 64.7 Elevated -5.9
Dallas County, MO 58.9 Elevated -11.7
Polk County, MO 53.3 Elevated -17.3
Camden County, MO 41.7 Normal -28.9

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Hickory County
Real County, TX 70.6 Serious -0.0
Lee County, KY 70.7 Serious +0.1
Montgomery County, AR 70.5 Serious -0.1
Jefferson County, OK 70.7 Serious +0.1
Oscoda County, MI 70.5 Serious -0.1

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