In Ozark County, Missouri, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2019
In 2024, 44 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 57% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ozark County's score
In Ozark County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 90.0. About one in four people (24.3%, 2020 to 2024) has a disability, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 84.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ozark 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.
Ozark County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (33.4, 2025) and people with a credit card behind (2.4%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.4% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line30.7% · 202492nd percentile
- People with a disability24.3% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance13.2% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,903 · 202493rd percentile
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- 84.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202693rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.5% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 48.4 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 rent12.7% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.6% · fiscal year 202775th percentile
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- 30.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.4% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.7% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.1% · second quarter of 202656th percentile
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- 22.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector20.3% · August 202539th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people33.4 · 20255th or lower 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 Ozark 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 Ozark County, 29.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ozark County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Ozark County, benefit checks have brought in more than pay since 2019
In Ozark County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 43.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ozark County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 24.3% in 2016 to 19.7% in 2017.
The share of households in Ozark County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen to 14.7%
Low on the chart: 10.9% 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, Ozark County, Missouri.
How Ozark County has changed
Ozark County's population had its largest rise, from 6,332 in 1969 to 7,189 in 1974.
Ozark County's population rose 44% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 9,673 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ozark County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Ozark County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,519, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 1,620 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ozark County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.8% | 2025 6.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 25.3% | 2024 19.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,379 | 2024 $48,903 |
The table uses 6.3% for 2025; the score uses 6.0% 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 Ozark County's history
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 12,145. The 2020 Census counted 8,553, 70% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
A tornado in April 1982 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flash flood in April 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A thunderstorm in September 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A tornado in March 2025 did $2 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ozark County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ozark County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Ozark County, in Missouri and Arkansas, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Ozark County ranks 2nd of the seven; Fulton County is highest, at 47.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taney County, MO | 76 | 13.6% | 29.2% |
| Howell County, MO | 75 | 18.6% | 35.9% |
| Douglas County, MO | 74 | 17.8% | 38.6% |
| Fulton County, AR | 74 | 16.3% | 47.3% |
| Marion County, AR | 68 | 16.4% | 41.9% |
| Baxter County, AR | 66 | 14.0% | 39.4% |
| Ozark County, MO | 57 | 19.4% | 43.5% |
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 Ozark County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Ozark County's poverty rate was 19.4% in 2024, 11th 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, Ozark County ranks 42nd of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ozark 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.
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 Ozark County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.