In Oregon County, Missouri, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2020
In 2024, 45 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Oregon County's score
In Oregon County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 90.7. The typical household earns $44,812 a year (2024), less than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 75.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Oregon 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.
Oregon County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.3%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (114.7, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.1% · 202487th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.2% · 202484th percentile
- People with a disability23.6% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- People without health insurance16.3% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$44,812 · 2024top 5%
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- 75.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.6% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
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- 65.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202650th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.5% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
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- 62.7 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 rent16.3% · 2020 to 202439th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.8% · fiscal year 202786th percentile
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- 52.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.4% · August 202561st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people114.7 · 202543rd 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 Oregon 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 Oregon County, 23.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Oregon County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Oregon County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Missouri
In Oregon County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 45.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Oregon County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 17.5% in 2010 to 20.0% in 2011; 19.9% in 2021 to 17.4% in 2022.
The share of households in Oregon County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 19.9%
Low on the chart: 17.2% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Oregon County, Missouri.
How Oregon County has changed
Oregon County's population had its largest drop, from 10,067 in 2014 to 8,847 in 2019.
Oregon County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 10,724 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Oregon County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Oregon County rose by about half to 2,556, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 2,556. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Oregon County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 30.3% | 2024 20.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,008 | 2024 $44,812 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Oregon County's history
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 14,681. The 2020 Census counted 8,635, 59% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
A tornado in December 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in December 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in October 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flash flood in April 2017 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Oregon County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Oregon County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Oregon County, in Missouri and Arkansas, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Oregon County ranks 2nd of the eight; Fulton County is highest, at 47.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ripley County, MO | 96 | 21.9% | 44.8% |
| Sharp County, AR | 84 | 18.9% | 41.7% |
| Oregon County, MO | 82 | 20.1% | 45.0% |
| Carter County, MO | 81 | 17.1% | 40.8% |
| Howell County, MO | 75 | 18.6% | 35.9% |
| Fulton County, AR | 74 | 16.3% | 47.3% |
| Randolph County, AR | 74 | 18.1% | 36.7% |
| Shannon County, MO | 71 | 21.3% | 39.1% |
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 Oregon County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Oregon County's poverty rate was 20.1% in 2024, 9th 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, Oregon County ranks 11th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Oregon 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 Oregon 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 Oregon County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.