Polk County, Missouri

County Distress Index: Elevated · 53.3 | 32,780 people · 51st most distressed in Missouri

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Polk County, MO registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 53.3 — 1352nd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Community Vulnerability, where uninsured and disability rates are well above the national average. Within Missouri, it ranks 51st of 115 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 4 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Polk County's primary driver is Community Vulnerability at 71.2 — above the national median.

Community Vulnerability Primary driver 71.2
Uninsured Rate 87
Disability Rate 56
Debt & Delinquency 57.2
Debt in Collections 67
Medical Debt 95
Student Loan Delinquency 71
Auto Loan Delinquency 42
Credit Card Delinquency 34
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 33
Income & Poverty 52.5
Poverty Rate 59
Income vs. State Median 47
Child Poverty Rate 51
Housing Cost Burden 52.3
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 74
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 40
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 57
Homeownership Rate 65
Rent-to-Income Ratio 26
Employment & Wages 33.1
Unemployment Rate 27
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 32
Business Formation Rate 41

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Polk County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Polk County
Polk County, MO 53.3 Elevated
Hickory County, MO 70.6 Serious +17.3
St. Clair County, MO 64.7 Elevated +11.4
Cedar County, MO 63.1 Elevated +9.8
Dallas County, MO 58.9 Elevated +5.6
Greene County, MO 51.0 Elevated -2.3
Dade County, MO 49.3 Normal -4.0

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Polk County
Knox County, IN 53.3 Elevated 0.0
Franklin County, TX 53.3 Elevated 0.0
Adams County, WI 53.3 Elevated +0.1
Upshur County, WV 53.2 Elevated -0.1
Cortland County, NY 53.2 Elevated -0.1

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