Benefit checks make up 32 cents of every dollar of income in Marion County, Missouri
In Marion County, 32.0% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 72% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Marion County's score
In Marion County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 60.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 155.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 61% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 53.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Marion 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.
Marion County does better than most counties on two measures: children below the poverty line (14.6%, 2024) and people with a credit card behind (5.0%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 60.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector25.5% · August 202558th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people155.3 · 202561st percentile
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- 53.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.1% · 202457th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.6% · 202436th percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance7.9% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,490 · 202472nd percentile
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- 53.5 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 rent18.1% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.4% · fiscal year 202757th percentile
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- 52.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.0% · August 202542nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.8% · August 202558th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.2% · second quarter of 202657th percentile
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- 48.6 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 202643rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.3% · 2020 to 202453rd 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 Marion 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 Marion County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Marion County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Marion County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Marion County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Marion County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.8% in 2016 to 13.7% in 2017.
The share of households in Marion County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 12.1%, with its low point on the chart in 2023
Low on the chart: 11.1% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Marion County, Missouri.
How Marion County has changed
Marion County's population fell most sharply on the way to its 1989 low, from 28,616 in 1984 to 27,635 in 1989.
Marion County's population was about the same in 2024 as in 1969
High on the chart: 28,810 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Marion County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Marion County rose most sharply from its first year (11,464 in 1990) to 13,126 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Marion County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 7% since
High on the chart: 14,032 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Marion County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.4% | 2024 14.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,633 | 2024 $59,490 |
The table uses 4.2% 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 Marion County's history
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 33,493. The 2020 Census counted 28,525, 85% of the peak. Census Bureau
2008
Hail in May 2008 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in June 2008 did $7.1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Marion County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Marion County beside its neighbors
Marion County scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Missouri and Illinois. Of the group, Marion County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (32.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County, MO | 55 | 14.1% | 32.0% |
| Pike County, IL | 46 | 13.5% | 28.1% |
| Monroe County, MO | 36 | 12.4% | 30.0% |
| Adams County, IL | 33 | 13.3% | 23.6% |
| Lewis County, MO | 30 | 13.4% | 30.7% |
| Shelby County, MO | 27 | 15.6% | 30.4% |
| Ralls County, MO | 22 | 8.5% | 26.2% |
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 Marion County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Marion County's poverty rate was 14.1% in 2024, 57th 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, Marion County ranks 46th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Marion 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 Marion 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 Marion County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.