About one in six people in Phelps County, Missouri, lives below the poverty line
In Phelps County, 17.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 76% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Phelps County's score
In Phelps County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 62.0. Jobs come next, at 52.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Phelps 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.
Phelps County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a credit card behind (4.2%, August 2025) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 62.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.1% · 202476th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.4% · 202446th percentile
- People with a disability16.3% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- People without health insurance9.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,629 · 202474th percentile
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- 52.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202640th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.1% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
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- 49.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.0% · August 202549th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people123.7 · 202548th percentile
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- 47.4 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 score43.0% · second quarter of 202660th percentile
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- 45.3 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 rent18.0% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202741st 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 Phelps 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 Phelps County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Phelps County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Phelps County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Phelps County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Phelps County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply after its 2012 high, from 13.6% in 2012 to 12.1% in 2013.
The share of households in Phelps County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2022, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 11.2% 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, Phelps County, Missouri.
How Phelps County has changed
Phelps County's population rose by more than half to 45,672, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1999 to 2004, reaching 42,616. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Phelps County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Phelps County rose by about half to 19,609, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 16,084. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Phelps County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.7% | 2024 17.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,271 | 2024 $58,629 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Phelps County's history
1857
Created November 13, 1857, from portions of Pulaski, Maries and Crawford counties. Wikipedia
1861
Fort Wyman was constructed in 1861 as a Union fort with a dry moat and 32-pound field pieces on each corner. Wikipedia
1863
Fort Dette was constructed in 1863 in a cross shape with positions for 24-pound cannons and ports for rifle fire. Wikipedia
1978
A tornado in May 1978 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A tornado in June 1999 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 45,156. The 2020 Census counted 44,638, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
2010
A tornado in December 2010 did $1 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A tornado in March 2025 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Phelps County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Phelps County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Phelps County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Phelps County ranks 6th of the seven; Dent County is highest, at 38.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas County, MO | 77 | 19.3% | 36.5% |
| Dent County, MO | 62 | 14.4% | 38.8% |
| Crawford County, MO | 59 | 15.1% | 31.9% |
| Phelps County, MO | 52 | 17.1% | 29.2% |
| Pulaski County, MO | 50 | 14.7% | 24.5% |
| Maries County, MO | 34 | 11.5% | 31.4% |
| Gasconade County, MO | 31 | 12.1% | 32.0% |
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 Phelps County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Phelps County's poverty rate was 17.1% in 2024, 22nd 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, Phelps County ranks 53rd of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Phelps 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 Phelps 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 Phelps County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.