In Iron County, Missouri, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2019
In 2024, 47 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Iron County's score
In Iron County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 83.8. The typical household earns $48,448 a year (2024), less than in 93% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 79.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Iron 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.
Iron County does better than most counties on one measure: people with a credit card behind (3.3%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.2% · 202481st percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.5% · 202481st percentile
- People with a disability22.8% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- People without health insurance10.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,448 · 202493rd percentile
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- 79.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202671st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.8% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
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- 67.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.7% · August 202572nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people158.9 · 202562nd percentile
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- 64.1 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 rent18.3% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.8% · fiscal year 202777th percentile
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- 50.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.3% · August 202514th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.0% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.3% · second quarter of 202675th 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 Iron 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 Iron County, 22.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Iron County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Iron County, benefit checks have brought in more than pay since 2019
In Iron County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 47.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Iron County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 22.4% in 2016 to 19.2% in 2017.
The share of households in Iron County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 16.0% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Iron County, Missouri.
How Iron County has changed
Iron County's population had its largest rise, from 9,526 in 1969 to 10,684 in 1974.
Iron County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 16% since
High on the chart: 11,243 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Iron County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Iron County had its largest rise, from 3,276 in 2010 to 3,816 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Iron County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 3,816 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Iron County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.3% | 2025 5.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.6% | 2024 18.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,639 | 2024 $48,448 |
The table uses 5.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Iron County's history
1857
Organized February 17, 1857. Wikipedia
1967
A tornado in December 1967 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 11,084. The 2020 Census counted 9,537, 86% of the peak. Census Bureau
2002
A flash flood in May 2002 did $5.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A thunderstorm in September 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flash flood in November 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Iron County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Iron County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Iron County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Iron County ranks 2nd of the eight; Wayne County is highest, at 47.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, MO | 97 | 19.6% | 47.6% |
| Iron County, MO | 82 | 18.2% | 47.1% |
| Washington County, MO | 81 | 18.0% | 38.7% |
| Reynolds County, MO | 73 | 18.6% | 45.2% |
| St. Francois County, MO | 73 | 14.6% | 34.0% |
| Madison County, MO | 72 | 15.1% | 41.7% |
| Dent County, MO | 62 | 14.4% | 38.8% |
| Crawford County, MO | 59 | 15.1% | 31.9% |
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 Iron County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Iron County's poverty rate was 18.2% in 2024, 18th 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, Iron County ranks 12th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Iron 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 Iron County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.