About three in ten people with a credit file in Jasper County, Missouri, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Jasper County, 30.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 73% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jasper County's score
In Jasper County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 73.7. People with a credit card behind: 7.1%, August 2025, higher than in 75% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 69.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jasper 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.
Jasper County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and children below the poverty line (16.7%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.6% · second quarter of 202671st percentile
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- 69.3 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 rent22.1% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th percentile
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- 63.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.1% · August 202573rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people131.9 · 202552nd percentile
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- 60.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.5% · 202452nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.7% · 202447th percentile
- People with a disability17.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance12.0% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,016 · 202464th percentile
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- 42.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202632nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.2% · 2020 to 202452nd 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 Jasper 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 Jasper County, 16.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jasper County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jasper County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 27.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Jasper County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Jasper County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.8% in 2011 to 17.3% in 2012.
The share of households in Jasper County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 14.8%
Low on the chart: 13.6% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Jasper County, Missouri.
How Jasper County has changed
Jasper County's population had its largest rise, from 108,897 in 2004 to 116,448 in 2009.
Jasper County's population rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 126,479, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 90,333. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jasper County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Jasper County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 56,939, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 59,788 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jasper County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.9% | 2024 13.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,544 | 2024 $62,016 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Jasper County's history
1971
A tornado in May 1971 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A tornado in April 1996 did $12 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in May 2003 did $21.2 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in May 2011 did $2.8 billion in property damage and killed 158 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 122,761, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jasper County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jasper County beside its neighbors
Jasper County scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Missouri and Kansas. For the share of income from benefit checks, Jasper County ranks 5th of the seven; Dade County is highest, at 32.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jasper County, MO | 70 | 13.5% | 27.1% |
| Crawford County, KS | 58 | 17.1% | 27.5% |
| Cherokee County, KS | 58 | 16.3% | 26.7% |
| Barton County, MO | 58 | 13.7% | 30.4% |
| Newton County, MO | 50 | 12.4% | 23.5% |
| Lawrence County, MO | 45 | 12.6% | 30.8% |
| Dade County, MO | 43 | 13.5% | 32.1% |
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 Jasper County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Jasper County's poverty rate was 13.5% in 2024, 67th 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, Jasper County ranks 27th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jasper 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 Aid of Western 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 Jasper 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 Jasper County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.