About one in three people with a credit file in Jasper County, Missouri, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Jasper County, 30.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector (Urban Institute, Debt in America, August 2025). 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 75.1. About one in three people (30.2%, Q4 2025) has a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 75% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 69.3.
The County Distress Index combines five things we measure for every county: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each gets a score from 0 to 100; the higher the score, the worse off the county is compared with others.
Jasper County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, 12-month average (3.5%, Sep 2025 to Aug 2026) and children below the poverty line (16.7%, 2024).
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Jasper County ranks among all 3,144 U.S. counties on that measure, as a percentile: the share of counties it is higher than. A longer bar means more trouble.
- 75.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.2% · Q4 202575th percentile
-
- 69.3 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent22.1% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
-
- 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
-
- 60.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line16.7% · 202447th percentile
- People with a disability17.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,016 · 202464th percentile
- People below the poverty line13.5% · 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance12.0% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
-
- 42.6 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average3.5% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202632nd percentile
-
Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
Where the money in Jasper County comes from
The Bureau of Economic Analysis adds up all the income that reaches the people of a county and splits it three ways: pay from work, income from investments and rent, and benefit checks.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jasper County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jasper County in 2024, pay from work was 56 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 17 cents. Benefit checks were 27 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 12 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Jasper County, benefit checks rose from 12 to 27 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Jasper County, Missouri: 27.1% and 56.0% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 27.1% of all personal income in Jasper County, Missouri (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC4).
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.
How Jasper County has changed
The number of people living in Jasper County grew by about 57% between 1969 and 2024, from 80,799 to 126,479. The number of jobs located there grew by about 30% from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 5.4% in 1990 to 3.8% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 80,799 | 2024 126,479 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 45,420 | 2024 59,244 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.9% | 2024 13.5% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $21,544 | 2024 $62,016 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 12.4% | 2024 27.1% |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices. We don't chart the distress score over time because it compares counties at one moment.
Dated events in Jasper County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 122,761, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
1971
Tornado: $2.5 million in property damage, one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
Tornado: $12 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
Tornado: $21.2 million in property damage, two deaths. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
Tornado: $2.8 billion in property damage, 158 deaths. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1973
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jasper County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
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% |
| Cherokee County, KS | 58 | 16.3% | 26.7% |
| Crawford County, KS | 58 | 17.1% | 27.5% |
| Barton County, MO | 57 | 13.7% | 30.4% |
| Newton County, MO | 51 | 12.4% | 23.5% |
| Dade County, MO | 43 | 13.5% | 32.1% |
| Lawrence County, MO | 43 | 12.6% | 30.8% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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 26th of 115 in the state.
Jasper County in photographs
Places in Jasper County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
A section of former Alternate US 71 near Carthage, Missouri.
Photo: The original uploader was Rt66lt at English Wikipedia . via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Jasper County, Missouri: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Jasper County, Missouri?
13.5% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in seven people. Among children it was 16.7%.
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 26th of 115 in the state.
What is the population of Jasper County, Missouri?
About 126,479 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 122,761, the most of any census.
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
We rank every U.S. county on 14 federal measures of money trouble, grouped into five equally weighted parts, and average them. The published score is the share of the other 3,143 counties with a lower average. The methodology lists every measure and its source.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jasper County
A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved housing counselor works at a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The counseling to avoid foreclosure is free, and a counselor can help you talk to your mortgage company and understand what it offers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection BureauSourceCFPB.
-
The Legal Aid and Defender Association (LAD)
Legal aid
-
HUD-approved housing counselors
Counseling to avoid foreclosure is free. Our help directory lists 1,311 approved agencies 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 Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- 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.