About three in ten people with a credit file in Saline County, Missouri, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Saline County, 30.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 73% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Saline County's score
In Saline County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 80.8. People with a credit card behind: 9.0%, August 2025, higher than in 91% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 67.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Saline 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.
Saline County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.0%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.0% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.0% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.8% · second quarter of 202663rd percentile
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- 67.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people151.9 · 202560th percentile
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- 59.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.5% · 202467th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.7% · 202452nd percentile
- People with a disability16.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
- People without health insurance8.1% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,641 · 202468th percentile
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- 45.9 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 202630th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.6% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
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- 33.3 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 rent15.5% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.0% · fiscal year 202732nd 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 Saline 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 Saline County, 17.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Saline County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Saline County had its largest rise, from 19.7% in 1989 to 25.8% in 1994.
In Saline County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Saline County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Saline County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.3% in 2019 to 10.4% in 2020.
The share of households in Saline County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2011 and has since fallen to 13.2%
Low on the chart: 9.4% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Saline County, Missouri.
How Saline County has changed
Saline County's population had its largest drop, from 24,663 in 1984 to 23,785 in 1989.
Saline County's population fell 8% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 25,239 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Saline County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Saline County had its largest rise, from 8,932 in 1990 to 9,821 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Saline County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 10,270 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Saline County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.5% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.4% | 2024 15.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,462 | 2024 $60,641 |
The table uses 3.6% 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 Saline County's history
1820
Organized November 25, 1820. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 33,703. The 2020 Census counted 23,333, 69% of the peak. Census Bureau
2006
A tornado in March 2006 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Saline County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Saline County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Saline County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Saline County ranks 3rd of the seven; Pettis County is highest, at 29.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pettis County, MO | 64 | 15.7% | 29.6% |
| Saline County, MO | 61 | 15.5% | 29.0% |
| Lafayette County, MO | 54 | 9.7% | 29.4% |
| Carroll County, MO | 37 | 14.3% | 26.6% |
| Howard County, MO | 36 | 11.2% | 29.0% |
| Cooper County, MO | 28 | 11.6% | 26.4% |
| Chariton County, MO | 12 | 11.7% | 28.8% |
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 Saline County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Saline County's poverty rate was 15.5% in 2024, 35th 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, Saline County ranks 38th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Saline 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 Aid of Western 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 Saline 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 Saline County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.