About one in four adults aged 25 to 54 in Newton County, Missouri, is not working
In Newton County, 24.7% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 72% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 50% of U.S. counties.
What drives Newton County's score
In Newton County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 60.1. About one in two people (45.9%, Q2 2026) has a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 69% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 54.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Newton 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.
Newton County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (72.5, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 60.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.4% · August 202548th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.0% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.9% · second quarter of 202669th percentile
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- 54.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202636th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.7% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
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- 52.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.4% · 202443rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.3% · 202445th percentile
- People with a disability15.0% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- People without health insurance12.7% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,231 · 202451st percentile
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- 42.9 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 rent15.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.9% · fiscal year 202752nd percentile
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- 42.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.2% · August 202564th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people72.5 · 202520th 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 Newton 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 Newton County, 18.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Newton County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Newton County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Newton County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.5%; 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 Newton County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 12.3%, with most of the change between 2023 and 2024
High on the chart: 12.5% 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, Newton County, Missouri.
How Newton County has changed
Newton County's population had its largest rise, from 47,856 in 1994 to 52,082 in 1999.
Newton County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 61,519, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2014 to 2019, reaching 58,528. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Newton County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Newton County nearly doubled to 23,014, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 18,603. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Newton County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.7% | 2024 12.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,744 | 2024 $66,231 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.6% 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 Newton County's history
1840
Lead discovered in 1840s and developed for mining. Wikipedia
1975
A tornado in April 1975 did $25 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in April 2001 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in May 2008 did $35 million in property damage and killed 14 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A thunderstorm in May 2009 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 58,648, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Newton County, 19 of them for flooding. FEMA
Newton County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Newton County, in Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas, five score higher. Of the group, Newton County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Ottawa County gets the largest, at 35.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa County, OK | 86 | 19.2% | 35.2% |
| Jasper County, MO | 70 | 13.5% | 27.1% |
| McDonald County, MO | 69 | 18.0% | 26.9% |
| Cherokee County, KS | 58 | 16.3% | 26.7% |
| Barry County, MO | 55 | 15.7% | 29.7% |
| Newton County, MO | 50 | 12.4% | 23.5% |
| Lawrence County, MO | 45 | 12.6% | 30.8% |
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 Newton County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Newton County's poverty rate was 12.4% in 2024, 77th 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, Newton County ranks 57th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Newton 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 Newton 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 Newton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.