About one in nine people in Howard County, Missouri, lives below the poverty line
In Howard County, 11.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 68% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Howard County's score
In Howard County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 48.8. Jobs are the lowest part, at 35.0. About one in six adults aged 25 to 54 (17.9%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 67% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Howard 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.
Howard 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.
- 48.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.2% · August 202564th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.0% · second quarter of 202649th percentile
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- 47.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.2% · 202432nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.6% · 202431st percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance8.1% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,980 · 202467th percentile
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- 43.4 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 rent18.2% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.5% · fiscal year 202736th percentile
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- 36.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.0% · August 202538th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people99 · 202535th percentile
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- 35.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202637th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.9% · 2020 to 202432nd 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 Howard 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 Howard County, 20.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Howard County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Howard County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Howard County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Howard County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 10.7% in 2009 to 12.2% in 2010; 11.0% in 2019 to 9.5% in 2020.
The share of households in Howard County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 7.8%
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 9.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Howard County, Missouri.
How Howard County has changed
Howard County's population fell 5% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 10,726 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Howard County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Howard County rose 6% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 2,623 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Howard County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.5% | 2024 11.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,446 | 2024 $60,980 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Howard County's history
1816
Organized January 23, 1816. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 18,337. The 2020 Census counted 10,151, 55% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Howard County, 20 of them for flooding. FEMA
Howard County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Howard County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Howard County ranks 2nd of the six; Saline County is highest, at 29.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saline County, MO | 61 | 15.5% | 29.0% |
| Randolph County, MO | 51 | 12.8% | 27.9% |
| Howard County, MO | 36 | 11.2% | 29.0% |
| Cooper County, MO | 28 | 11.6% | 26.4% |
| Boone County, MO | 22 | 14.3% | 16.7% |
| Chariton County, MO | 12 | 11.7% | 28.8% |
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 Howard County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Howard County's poverty rate was 11.2% in 2024, 93rd 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, Howard County ranks 74th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Howard 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 Howard 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 Howard County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.