Benefit checks make up 42 cents of every dollar of income in Madison County, Missouri
In Madison County, 41.7% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Madison County's score
In Madison County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 73.9. The typical household earns $52,177 a year (2024), less than in 88% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 69.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Madison 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.
Madison County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.1% · 202465th percentile
- Children below the poverty line19.5% · 202462nd percentile
- People with a disability20.6% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance10.6% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,177 · 202488th percentile
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- 69.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.9% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.4% · August 202553rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.1% · second quarter of 202663rd percentile
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- 66.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.3% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people133.9 · 202553rd percentile
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- 58.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202664th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
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- 47.3 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 rent10.7% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.5% · fiscal year 202780th 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 Madison 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 Madison County, 19.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Madison County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Madison County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 41.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Madison County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41.7%; 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 Madison County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter to 13.4%, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2023 and 2024
High on the chart: 18.4% in 2013. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Madison County, Missouri.
How Madison County has changed
Madison County's population had its largest rise, from 8,841 in 1969 to 9,841 in 1974.
Madison County's population rose by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12,852, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 10,835. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Madison County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Madison County rose 16% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2000 and 2005
High on the chart: 3,625 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Madison County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.5% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.4% | 2024 15.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,801 | 2024 $52,177 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Madison County's history
1925
1925 tri-state tornado destroyed farm buildings and livestock. Wikipedia
1999
A flash flood in April 1999 did $6 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flood in January 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 12,626, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Madison County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Madison County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Madison County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Madison County ranks 3rd of the six; 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% |
| St. Francois County, MO | 73 | 14.6% | 34.0% |
| Madison County, MO | 72 | 15.1% | 41.7% |
| Bollinger County, MO | 54 | 14.5% | 35.6% |
| Perry County, MO | 28 | 11.5% | 27.0% |
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 Madison County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Madison County's poverty rate was 15.1% in 2024, 38th 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, Madison County ranks 24th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Madison 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.
Download the CSV for Madison 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 Madison County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.