About one in seven people in Sullivan County, Missouri, has a disability
In Sullivan County, 13.9% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 70% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sullivan County's score
In Sullivan County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 66.8. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 29.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 51.8 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 89% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sullivan 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.
Even so, Sullivan County is worse off than most counties on median household income ($54,486, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 66.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.6% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.2% · second quarter of 202672nd percentile
-
- 59.8 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 202652nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.6% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
-
- 52.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.7% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.4% · 202446th percentile
- People with a disability13.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- People without health insurance8.7% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,486 · 202483rd percentile
-
- 38.5 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 rent12.8% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.2% · fiscal year 202755th percentile
-
- 29.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.6% · August 202547th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people51.8 · 202510th 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 Sullivan 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 Sullivan County, 20.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sullivan County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Sullivan County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 31.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Sullivan County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Sullivan County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 13.5% in 2015 to 11.3% in 2016.
The share of households in Sullivan County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 10.0%
Low on the chart: 8.5% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sullivan County, Missouri.
How Sullivan County has changed
Sullivan County's population fell by about a quarter to 5,750, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 6,360. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sullivan County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Sullivan County rose most sharply from its first year (1,888 in 1990) to 2,718 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Sullivan County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 17% since
High on the chart: 2,781 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sullivan County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.7% | 2025 3.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.7% | 2024 12.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,809 | 2024 $54,486 |
The table uses 3.7% 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 Sullivan County's history
1836
American pioneers from Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia established settlements, 1836-1840. Wikipedia
1843
1843 (created) 1845 (organized). Wikipedia
1845
February 14, 1845 (formally organized). Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 20,282. The 2020 Census counted 5,999, 30% of the peak. Census Bureau
1900
Farm population declined from about 3,100 in 1900 to under 900 by 1982. Wikipedia
2009
A tornado in May 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1973
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sullivan County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sullivan County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Sullivan County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sullivan County ranks 5th of the six; Grundy County is highest, at 37.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adair County, MO | 57 | 21.9% | 28.6% |
| Grundy County, MO | 55 | 16.8% | 37.6% |
| Sullivan County, MO | 48 | 12.7% | 31.7% |
| Linn County, MO | 36 | 12.1% | 33.5% |
| Mercer County, MO | 32 | 13.7% | 35.0% |
| Putnam County, MO | 23 | 13.8% | 31.8% |
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 Sullivan County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Sullivan County's poverty rate was 12.7% in 2024, 74th 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, Sullivan County ranks 59th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sullivan 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 Aid of Western 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 Sullivan 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 Sullivan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.