Benefit checks make up 36 cents of every dollar of income in Howell County, Missouri
In Howell County, 35.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 84% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Howell County's score
In Howell County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 81.5. The typical household earns $50,137 a year (2024), less than in 91% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 76.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Howell 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.
Howell County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (58.9, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (18.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.6% · 202482nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.9% · 202479th percentile
- People with a disability19.6% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- People without health insurance11.7% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,137 · 202491st percentile
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- 76.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.4% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.6% · second quarter of 202671st percentile
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- 69.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.6% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 60.6 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 rent18.1% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202771st percentile
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- 38.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.7% · August 202562nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people58.9 · 202514th 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 Howell 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 Howell County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Howell County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Howell County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 38% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Howell County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Howell County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop in the last span, from 16.4% in 2023 to 14.0% in 2024.
The share of households in Howell County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 14.0%
Low on the chart: 13.0% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Howell County, Missouri.
How Howell County has changed
Howell County's population nearly doubled to 40,762, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1989 to 1994, reaching 34,239. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Howell County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Howell County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 15,327, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 15,805 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Howell County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.2% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.1% | 2024 18.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,572 | 2024 $50,137 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Howell County's history
1857
Organized March 2, 1857, from Oregon County. Wikipedia
1982
A tornado in April 1982 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 40,400. The 2020 Census counted 39,750, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A flash flood in April 2011 did $3 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flash flood in April 2017 did $60 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A flash flood in April 2025 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Howell County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Howell County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Howell County, in Missouri and Arkansas, two score higher. Of the group, Howell County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Fulton County gets the largest, at 47.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon County, MO | 82 | 20.1% | 45.0% |
| Texas County, MO | 77 | 19.3% | 36.5% |
| Howell County, MO | 75 | 18.6% | 35.9% |
| Douglas County, MO | 74 | 17.8% | 38.6% |
| Fulton County, AR | 74 | 16.3% | 47.3% |
| Shannon County, MO | 71 | 21.3% | 39.1% |
| Ozark County, MO | 57 | 19.4% | 43.5% |
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 Howell County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Howell County's poverty rate was 18.6% in 2024, 16th 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, Howell County ranks 18th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Howell 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.
Download the CSV for Howell 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 Howell County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.