About one in two people with a credit file in Pemiscot County, Missouri, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Pemiscot County, 46.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pemiscot County's score
In Pemiscot County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 93.1. Housing costs come next, at 92.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pemiscot 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.
Pemiscot County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector46.4% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people301.1 · 202591st percentile
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- 92.0 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 rent28.2% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.6% · fiscal year 202789th percentile
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- 91.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202689th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.0% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
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- 91.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line23.7% · 202494th percentile
- Children below the poverty line35.7% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability22.8% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- People without health insurance12.6% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$43,377 · 2024top 5%
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- 88.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind12.9% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score59.3% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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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 Pemiscot 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 Pemiscot County, 18.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pemiscot County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Pemiscot County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 34.1% in 2004 to 40.3% in 2009.
In Pemiscot County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 37.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Pemiscot County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 37.6%; 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 Pemiscot County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 30.7%, with most of the change between 2009 and 2010
Low on the chart: 30.0% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pemiscot County, Missouri.
How Pemiscot County has changed
Pemiscot County's population had its largest drop, from 17,571 in 2014 to 15,859 in 2019.
Pemiscot County's population fell by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 14,407, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 2009 to 2014, reaching 17,571. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pemiscot County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Pemiscot County had its largest drop, from 5,875 in 2015 to 5,155 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Pemiscot County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 6,180 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pemiscot County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.0% | 2025 5.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 37.0% | 2024 23.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,399 | 2024 $43,377 |
The table uses 5.8% for 2025; the score uses 5.6% 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 Pemiscot County's history
1851
County officially organized on February 19, 1851. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 46,857. The 2020 Census counted 15,661, 33% of the peak. Census Bureau
1940
Mechanization of agriculture required fewer laborers, causing population decline since 1940 peak. Wikipedia
1952
A tornado in March 1952 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed 17 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A tornado in October 2004 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A tornado in April 2006 did $60 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A tornado in December 2021 did $1.25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pemiscot County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pemiscot County beside its neighbors
Pemiscot County scores higher than all five counties that border it, in Missouri, Tennessee and Arkansas. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pemiscot County ranks 3rd of the six; Lake County is highest, at 51.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pemiscot County, MO | 99 | 23.7% | 37.6% |
| Lake County, TN | 97 | 31.2% | 51.4% |
| Mississippi County, AR | 97 | 20.0% | 28.6% |
| Dunklin County, MO | 96 | 25.4% | 41.3% |
| New Madrid County, MO | 91 | 19.1% | 32.5% |
| Dyer County, TN | 74 | 14.3% | 26.9% |
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 Pemiscot County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Pemiscot County's poverty rate was 23.7% in 2024, 2nd 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, Pemiscot County ranks 1st of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pemiscot 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 Pemiscot 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 Pemiscot County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.