About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Mercer County, Missouri, have a job
In Mercer County, 17.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 70% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mercer County's score
In Mercer County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 63.1. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 29.4. About one in 12 renters (8.5%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 90% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mercer 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, Mercer County is worse off than most counties on median household income ($56,564, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 63.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.7% · 202454th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.3% · 202465th percentile
- People with a disability16.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- People without health insurance9.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,564 · 202479th percentile
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- 41.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202559th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.2% · second quarter of 202630th percentile
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- 33.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.6% · August 202536th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people86.5 · 202529th percentile
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- 31.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202633rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.5% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
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- 29.4 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 rent8.5% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.6% · fiscal year 202749th 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 Mercer 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 Mercer County, 22.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mercer County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Mercer County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 35.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Mercer County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Mercer County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 8.5% in 2017 to 5.8% in 2018.
The share of households in Mercer County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 10.7%
Low on the chart: 5.5% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Mercer County, Missouri.
How Mercer County has changed
Mercer County's population fell by about a third to 3,452, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 3,736. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mercer County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Mercer County rose most sharply from its first year (648 in 1990) to 1,480 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Mercer County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 58% since
High on the chart: 1,921 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mercer County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.9% | 2024 13.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,591 | 2024 $56,564 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Mercer County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 14,706. The 2020 Census counted 3,538, 24% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mercer County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Mercer County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Mercer County, in Missouri and Iowa, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Mercer County ranks 3rd of the seven; Grundy County is highest, at 37.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grundy County, MO | 55 | 16.8% | 37.6% |
| Harrison County, MO | 51 | 15.9% | 36.0% |
| Sullivan County, MO | 48 | 12.7% | 31.7% |
| Mercer County, MO | 32 | 13.7% | 35.0% |
| Decatur County, IA | 26 | 18.1% | 33.0% |
| Putnam County, MO | 23 | 13.8% | 31.8% |
| Wayne County, IA | 19 | 12.9% | 26.4% |
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 Mercer County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Mercer County's poverty rate was 13.7% in 2024, 61st 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, Mercer County ranks 81st of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mercer 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 Aid of Western 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 Mercer 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 Mercer County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.