About one in three people with a credit file in Scott County, Missouri, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Scott County, 33.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Scott County's score
In Scott County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 86.1. Bankruptcy filings ran at 282.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 69.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Scott 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.
Scott County does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (15.8%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.6% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people282.4 · 202589th percentile
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- 69.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.0% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.1% · second quarter of 202677th percentile
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- 60.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.5% · 202452nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.5% · 202451st percentile
- People with a disability16.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- People without health insurance10.7% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,671 · 202468th percentile
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- 50.4 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 rent18.9% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202746th percentile
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- 30.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202640th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.8% · 2020 to 202420th 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 Scott 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 Scott County, 18.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Scott County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Scott County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Scott County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Scott County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 17.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Scott County, Missouri.
How Scott County has changed
Scott County's population rose 13% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 40,464 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Scott County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Scott County rose by about a fifth to 16,184, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2010 and 2015
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 15,305. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Scott County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.6% | 2024 13.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,080 | 2024 $60,671 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Scott County's history
1803
Commerce (Tywapitty) was an early French fur trading post that became an established river landing by 1803. Wikipedia
1820
Delaware (Lenape) and Shawnee people migrated into Scott County in the 1820s from territories east of the Mississippi. Wikipedia
1821
Created December 28, 1821. Wikipedia
1957
A tornado in December 1957 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1986
A tornado in May 1986 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 40,422. The 2020 Census counted 38,059, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
2012
A tornado in June 2012 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A tornado in May 2025 did $15 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
31 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Scott County, 22 of them for flooding. FEMA
Scott County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Scott County, in Missouri and Illinois, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Scott County ranks 5th of the six; Alexander County is highest, at 53.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi County, MO | 98 | 21.0% | 40.7% |
| New Madrid County, MO | 91 | 19.1% | 32.5% |
| Alexander County, IL | 89 | 24.8% | 53.2% |
| Stoddard County, MO | 70 | 14.8% | 34.9% |
| Scott County, MO | 65 | 13.5% | 32.5% |
| Cape Girardeau County, MO | 38 | 12.4% | 23.0% |
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 Scott County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Scott County's poverty rate was 13.5% in 2024, 67th 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, Scott County ranks 32nd of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Scott 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.
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 Scott County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.