About one in five people in St. Francois County, Missouri, has a disability
In St. Francois County, 21.4% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 86% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives St. Francois County's score
In St. Francois County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 78.2. Bankruptcy filings ran at 220.7 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 79% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 72.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in St. Francois 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.
St. Francois County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.0%, 2020 to 2024) and children below the poverty line (15.9%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.0% · August 202576th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people220.7 · 202579th percentile
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- 72.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.3% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.9% · second quarter of 202676th percentile
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- 67.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.6% · 202461st percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.9% · 202443rd percentile
- People with a disability21.4% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- People without health insurance10.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,563 · 202474th percentile
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- 63.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202662nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.9% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
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- 38.4 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 rent15.0% · 2020 to 202431st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202745th 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 St. Francois 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 St. Francois 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
St. Francois County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In St. Francois County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 34.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In St. Francois County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in St. Francois County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 19.1% in 2011 to 21.1% in 2012.
The share of households in St. Francois County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 15.6%
Low on the chart: 13.8% 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, St. Francois County, Missouri.
How St. Francois County has changed
St. Francois County's population had its largest rise, from 55,345 in 1999 to 60,829 in 2004.
St. Francois County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 67,503, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 67,503. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, St. Francois County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in St. Francois County rose by about half to 23,012, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 17,912. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, St. Francois County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.1% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.2% | 2024 14.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,116 | 2024 $58,563 |
The table uses 4.7% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 St. Francois County's history
1957
A tornado in May 1957 did $25 million in property damage and killed eight people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1957
A tornado in May 1957 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1957
A tornado in December 1957 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1969
A tornado in June 1969 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 66,922, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1976
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered St. Francois County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
St. Francois County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border St. Francois County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, St. Francois County ranks 4th of the seven; Iron County is highest, at 47.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron County, MO | 82 | 18.2% | 47.1% |
| Washington County, MO | 81 | 18.0% | 38.7% |
| St. Francois County, MO | 73 | 14.6% | 34.0% |
| Madison County, MO | 72 | 15.1% | 41.7% |
| Perry County, MO | 28 | 11.5% | 27.0% |
| Jefferson County, MO | 27 | 9.3% | 21.9% |
| Ste. Genevieve County, MO | 11 | 9.8% | 25.5% |
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 St. Francois County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, St. Francois County's poverty rate was 14.6% in 2024, 49th 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, St. Francois County ranks 22nd of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in St. Francois 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 St. Francois 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 St. Francois County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.