About one in five people in Stoddard County, Missouri, has a disability
In Stoddard County, 20.8% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Stoddard County's score
In Stoddard County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 72.5. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 71.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Stoddard 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.
Stoddard County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.8% · 202463rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.7% · 202458th percentile
- People with a disability20.8% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance11.2% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,245 · 202482nd percentile
-
- 71.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.4% · August 202565th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people214.8 · 202578th percentile
-
- 70.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.7% · second quarter of 202673rd percentile
-
- 60.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202653rd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.9% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
-
- 33.5 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 rent10.8% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.9% · fiscal year 202752nd percentile
-
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 Stoddard 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 Stoddard County, 20.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Stoddard County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Stoddard County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 34.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Stoddard County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.9%; 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 Stoddard County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a fifth to 15.2%, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2023 and 2024
High on the chart: 19.9% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Stoddard County, Missouri.
How Stoddard County has changed
Stoddard County's population rose 8% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 30,064 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Stoddard County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Stoddard County had its largest rise, from 10,192 in 2000 to 11,066 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Stoddard County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 11,066 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Stoddard County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.9% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.2% | 2024 14.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,770 | 2024 $55,245 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Stoddard County's history
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 33,463. The 2020 Census counted 28,672, 86% of the peak. Census Bureau
2006
A thunderstorm in April 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A flood in December 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in May 2011 did $3.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2012
A tornado in February 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1973
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Stoddard County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Stoddard County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Stoddard County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Stoddard County ranks 5th of the eight; Wayne County is highest, at 47.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, MO | 97 | 19.6% | 47.6% |
| Dunklin County, MO | 96 | 25.4% | 41.3% |
| Butler County, MO | 93 | 20.3% | 38.2% |
| New Madrid County, MO | 91 | 19.1% | 32.5% |
| Stoddard County, MO | 70 | 14.8% | 34.9% |
| Scott County, MO | 65 | 13.5% | 32.5% |
| Bollinger County, MO | 54 | 14.5% | 35.6% |
| 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 Stoddard County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Stoddard County's poverty rate was 14.8% in 2024, 44th 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, Stoddard County ranks 28th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Stoddard 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.
-
Legal Services of Southern Missouri
Legal aid
-
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 Stoddard 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 Stoddard County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.