Unemployment in Perry County, Missouri, is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties
In Perry County, 3.0% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is lower than in 87% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Perry County's score
In Perry County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 59.5. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 20.5. About one in eight renters (12.4%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 79% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Perry 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.
Perry County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 59.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.2% · August 202546th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people190 · 202572nd percentile
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- 37.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.2% · August 202527th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.5% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score34.8% · second quarter of 202628th percentile
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- 36.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line11.5% · 202435th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.1% · 202434th percentile
- People with a disability15.4% · 2020 to 202444th percentile
- People without health insurance5.7% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$69,940 · 202441st percentile
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- 34.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202613th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
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- 20.5 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 rent12.4% · 2020 to 202420th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.9% · fiscal year 202720th 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 Perry 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 Perry County, 19.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Perry County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Perry County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 27.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Perry County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 27.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Perry County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply after its 2016 low, from 8.8% in 2016 to 10.3% in 2017.
The share of households in Perry County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 10.2%
Low on the chart: 8.8% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Perry County, Missouri.
How Perry County has changed
Perry County's population rose by about a third to 19,100, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 16,680. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Perry County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Perry County had its largest rise, from 6,273 in 1990 to 7,525 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Perry County rose by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 9,627
High on the chart: 9,679 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Perry County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.0% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.2% | 2024 11.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,791 | 2024 $69,940 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Perry County's history
1820
Organized November 16, 1820, effective January 1, 1821, from Ste. Genevieve County. Wikipedia
1967
A tornado in December 1967 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A tornado in March 2006 did $1 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A thunderstorm in May 2009 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 18,971. The 2020 Census counted 18,956, 100% of the peak. Census Bureau
2017
A tornado in February 2017 did $8 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Perry County, 22 of them for flooding. FEMA
Perry County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Perry County, in Missouri and Illinois, seven score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Perry County ranks 7th of the nine; Madison County is highest, at 41.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson County, IL | 79 | 20.5% | 27.7% |
| St. Francois County, MO | 73 | 14.6% | 34.0% |
| Madison County, MO | 72 | 15.1% | 41.7% |
| Union County, IL | 55 | 17.2% | 35.6% |
| Bollinger County, MO | 54 | 14.5% | 35.6% |
| Randolph County, IL | 40 | 14.7% | 30.3% |
| Cape Girardeau County, MO | 38 | 12.4% | 23.0% |
| Perry County, MO | 28 | 11.5% | 27.0% |
| Ste. Genevieve County, MO | 11 | 9.8% | 25.5% |
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 Perry County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Perry County's poverty rate was 11.5% in 2024, 90th 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, Perry County ranks 92nd of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Perry 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 Perry County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.