About one in seven people with a credit file in Knox County, Missouri, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Knox County, 15.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector (Urban Institute, Debt in America, August 2025). That is lower than in 81% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Knox County's score
In Knox County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 66.1. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 12.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 26.9 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
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.
Even so, Knox County is worse off than most counties on people without health insurance (25.5%, 2020 to 2024) and median household income ($56,319, 2024).
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Knox 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.
- 66.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line22.4% · 202473rd percentile
- People with a disability12.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,319 · 202479th percentile
- People below the poverty line14.7% · 202462nd percentile
- People without health insurance25.5% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
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- 63.8 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.2% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average4.4% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202662nd percentile
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- 31.4 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 income20.5% · fiscal year 202748th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent10.9% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
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- 24.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202559th percentile
- People with a credit card behind1.3% · August 20255th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score14.3% · Q4 20259th percentile
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- 12.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.0% · August 202519th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people26.9 · 20255th percentile
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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 Knox 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
Knox County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Knox County in 2024, pay from work was 53 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 14 cents. Benefit checks were 33 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 13 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Knox County, benefit checks rose from 13 to 33 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Knox County, Missouri: 32.9% and 53.4% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 32.9% of all personal income in Knox 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 Knox County, 21.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How Knox County has changed
The number of people living in Knox County fell by about four in 10 between 1969 and 2024, from 5,860 to 3,740. The number of jobs located there fell by about one in 10 from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment rose from 4.4% in 1990 to 4.7% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 5,860 | 2024 3,740 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 1,000 | 2024 900 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.4% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.9% | 2024 14.7% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $16,261 | 2024 $56,319 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 13.1% | 2024 32.9% |
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 Knox County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 13,479. The 2020 Census counted 3,744, 28% of the peak. Census Bureau
1845
Organized February 14, 1845. Wikipedia
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Since 1973
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Knox County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Knox County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Knox County, two score higher. Of the group, Knox County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (32.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adair County, MO | 57 | 21.9% | 28.6% |
| Clark County, MO | 57 | 13.7% | 29.8% |
| Knox County, MO | 31 | 14.7% | 32.9% |
| Macon County, MO | 31 | 12.0% | 30.0% |
| Lewis County, MO | 30 | 13.4% | 30.7% |
| Shelby County, MO | 25 | 15.6% | 30.4% |
| Scotland County, MO | 19 | 13.6% | 23.4% |
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 Knox County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Knox County's poverty rate was 14.7% in 2024, 46th 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, Knox County ranks 85th of 115 in the state.
Knox County in photographs
Places in Knox County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
Knox County Missouri Courthouse.
Knox County, Missouri: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Knox County, Missouri?
14.7% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in seven people. Among children it was 22.4%.
Is Knox County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Knox County's poverty rate was 14.7% in 2024, 46th 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, Knox County ranks 85th of 115 in the state.
What is the population of Knox County, Missouri?
About 3,740 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 3,744, 28% of the county's peak of 13,479 in 1900.
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 Knox 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.
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The Legal Aid and Defender Association (LAD)
Legal aid
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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.
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 Knox County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.