Ray County, Missouri

County Distress Index: Normal · 45.6 | 23,182 people · 70th most distressed in Missouri

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Ray County, MO falls within the normal range for household financial distress at 45.6 — 1933rd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Employment & Wages, where unemployment is elevated, wages are low relative to housing costs, and business formation lags. Within Missouri, it ranks 70th of 115 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 4 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Ray County's primary driver is Employment & Wages at 69.8 — above the national median.

Employment & Wages Primary driver 69.8
Unemployment Rate 64
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 91
Business Formation Rate 55
Community Vulnerability 49.8
Uninsured Rate 63
Disability Rate 37
Debt & Delinquency 48.8
Debt in Collections 49
Medical Debt 44
Student Loan Delinquency 60
Auto Loan Delinquency 60
Credit Card Delinquency 29
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 52
Housing Cost Burden 40.9
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 35
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 34
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 35
Homeownership Rate 33
Rent-to-Income Ratio 67
Income & Poverty 18.5
Poverty Rate 20
Income vs. State Median 13
Child Poverty Rate 23

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

Neighbors and Peers

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

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Ray County
Ray County, MO 45.6 Normal
Jackson County, MO 52.9 Elevated +7.4
Lafayette County, MO 50.1 Elevated +4.6
Carroll County, MO 44.0 Normal -1.5
Caldwell County, MO 42.8 Normal -2.7
Clinton County, MO 42.6 Normal -3.0
Clay County, MO 38.1 Normal -7.4

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Ray County
Taylor County, WV 45.6 Normal 0.0
Stone County, MO 45.6 Normal -0.0
Tioga County, NY 45.6 Normal -0.0
Clark County, KY 45.5 Normal -0.0
Plaquemines Parish, LA 45.6 Normal +0.0

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