About one in 13 people in Lincoln County, Missouri, lives below the poverty line
In Lincoln County, 7.9% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lincoln County's score
In Lincoln County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 62.3. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 23.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lincoln 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.
Even so, Lincoln County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (205.6, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 62.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.7% · August 202548th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people205.6 · 202576th percentile
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- 38.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.4% · August 202531st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.1% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.3% · second quarter of 202634th percentile
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- 38.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202642nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.1% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
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- 30.8 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 rent17.4% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.3% · fiscal year 202715th percentile
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- 23.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.9% · 20247th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.6% · 202411th percentile
- People with a disability14.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- People without health insurance8.3% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$93,517 · 20248th 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, 14.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lincoln County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Lincoln County had its largest rise, from 15.5% in 2004 to 20.3% in 2009.
In Lincoln County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 21.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Lincoln County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Lincoln County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 8.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lincoln County, Missouri.
How Lincoln County has changed
Lincoln County's population had its largest rise, from 44,995 in 2004 to 52,243 in 2009.
Lincoln County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 65,888, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 21,345. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lincoln County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lincoln County more than doubled to 12,977, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 10,622. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lincoln County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.9% | 2024 7.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $27,680 | 2024 $93,517 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Lincoln County's history
1814
Fort Cap au Gris War of 1812 fortification built 1814. Wikipedia
1818
Founded December 14, 1818, and named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln of the American Revolutionary War. Wikipedia
2006
A tornado in March 2006 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in May 2019 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flash flood in June 2019 did $5.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 59,574, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A flash flood in July 2025 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lincoln County, 21 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lincoln County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Lincoln County, in Missouri and Illinois, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lincoln County ranks 5th of the six; Pike County is highest, at 31.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pike County, MO | 58 | 15.9% | 31.8% |
| Montgomery County, MO | 38 | 12.2% | 27.6% |
| Lincoln County, MO | 29 | 7.9% | 21.2% |
| Warren County, MO | 25 | 8.0% | 22.9% |
| Calhoun County, IL | 15 | 10.0% | 27.3% |
| St. Charles County, MO | 7 | 6.3% | 15.6% |
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 Lincoln County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Lincoln County's poverty rate was 7.9% in 2024, 110th 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, Lincoln County ranks 89th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lincoln 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 Eastern 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.