In Ralls County, Missouri, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in seven dollars of the typical household's income
In Ralls County, 14.5% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ralls County's score
In Ralls County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 54.0. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 6.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ralls 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.
Even so, Ralls County is worse off than most counties on people with a credit card behind (8.8%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 54.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.8% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.0% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score29.2% · second quarter of 202611th percentile
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- 51.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202631st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.4% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
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- 29.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.5% · 202411th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.4% · 202419th percentile
- People with a disability18.5% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- People without health insurance5.5% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$80,041 · 202420th percentile
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- 29.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector19.1% · August 202535th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people76.3 · 202522nd percentile
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- 6.2 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 rent7.7% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income14.5% · fiscal year 20275th 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 Ralls 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 Ralls County, 23.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ralls County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Ralls County had its largest rise, from 17.4% in 2004 to 22.5% in 2009.
In Ralls County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 26.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Ralls County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ralls County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 7.4% in 2011 to 8.4% in 2012; 8.3% in 2016 to 7.3% in 2017.
The share of households in Ralls County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2016 to 2017, reaching 7.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Ralls County, Missouri.
How Ralls County has changed
Ralls County's population rose by about a third to 10,499, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 9,494. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ralls County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Ralls County doubled to 3,607, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 3,488. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ralls County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.9% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.7% | 2024 8.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,738 | 2024 $80,041 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Ralls County's history
1820
Organized November 16, 1820. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 12,913. The 2020 Census counted 10,355, 80% of the peak. Census Bureau
2021
A thunderstorm in July 2021 did $1.3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ralls County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ralls County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border Ralls County, in Missouri and Illinois, score higher than it does. Of the group, Ralls County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Marion County gets the largest, at 32.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audrain County, MO | 64 | 15.4% | 27.2% |
| Pike County, MO | 58 | 15.9% | 31.8% |
| Marion County, MO | 55 | 14.1% | 32.0% |
| Pike County, IL | 46 | 13.5% | 28.1% |
| Monroe County, MO | 36 | 12.4% | 30.0% |
| Ralls County, MO | 22 | 8.5% | 26.2% |
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 Ralls County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Ralls County's poverty rate was 8.5% in 2024, 107th 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, Ralls County ranks 99th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ralls 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 Eastern 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 Ralls County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.