In Ripley County, Missouri, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2023
In 2024, 45 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ripley County's score
In Ripley County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 93.5. About one in three children (33.0%, 2024) lives below the poverty line, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 83.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ripley 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.
Ripley County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.9% · 202491st percentile
- Children below the poverty line33.0% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability26.2% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance15.6% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$44,357 · 2024top 5%
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- 83.6 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 rent23.4% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.0% · fiscal year 202787th percentile
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- 79.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.9% · August 202581st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people212.8 · 202577th percentile
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- 78.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.4% · August 202566th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.1% · second quarter of 202686th percentile
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- 73.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.1% · 2020 to 202485th 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 Ripley 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 Ripley County, 19.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ripley County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Ripley County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Missouri
In Ripley County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 44.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ripley County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.4% in 2011 to 21.6% in 2012.
The share of households in Ripley County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 16.1% 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, Ripley County, Missouri.
How Ripley County has changed
Ripley County's population had its largest drop, from 12,826 in 2014 to 10,916 in 2019.
Ripley County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 14,033 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ripley County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Ripley County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 2,800, with most of the change between 2000 and 2005
High on the chart: 2,943 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ripley County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 34.7% | 2024 21.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $12,531 | 2024 $44,357 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Ripley County's history
1833
Created January 5, 1833, from part of Wayne County. Wikipedia
1982
A tornado in December 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
A tornado in November 2005 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 14,100. The 2020 Census counted 10,679, 76% of the peak. Census Bureau
2017
A flood in May 2017 did $4.7 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A tornado in March 2025 did $1.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ripley County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ripley County beside its neighbors
Ripley County scores higher than all five counties that border it, in Missouri and Arkansas. For the share of income from benefit checks, Ripley County ranks 2nd of the six; Oregon County is highest, at 45.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ripley County, MO | 96 | 21.9% | 44.8% |
| Butler County, MO | 93 | 20.3% | 38.2% |
| Oregon County, MO | 82 | 20.1% | 45.0% |
| Carter County, MO | 81 | 17.1% | 40.8% |
| Clay County, AR | 76 | 15.9% | 36.8% |
| Randolph County, AR | 74 | 18.1% | 36.7% |
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 Ripley County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Ripley County's poverty rate was 21.9% in 2024, 3rd 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, Ripley County ranks 5th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ripley 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 Ripley 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 Ripley County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.