Vernon County, Missouri

County Distress Index: Elevated · 55.8 | 19,710 people · 42nd most distressed in Missouri

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Vernon County, MO registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 55.8 — 1162nd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Community Vulnerability, where uninsured and disability rates are well above the national average. Within Missouri, it ranks 42nd of 115 counties. Among its 7 neighboring counties, 6 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Vernon County's primary driver is Community Vulnerability at 81.7 — worse than roughly 82% of U.S. counties.

Community Vulnerability Primary driver 81.7
Uninsured Rate 90
Disability Rate 74
Income & Poverty 66.9
Poverty Rate 72
Income vs. State Median 62
Child Poverty Rate 66
Debt & Delinquency 57.2
Debt in Collections 72
Medical Debt 75
Student Loan Delinquency 73
Auto Loan Delinquency 38
Credit Card Delinquency 70
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 15
Housing Cost Burden 39.3
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 32
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 36
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 22
Homeownership Rate 59
Rent-to-Income Ratio 46
Employment & Wages 33.7
Unemployment Rate 23
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 38
Business Formation Rate 40

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Vernon County compares to its 7 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Vernon County
Vernon County, MO 55.8 Elevated
Crawford County, KS 65.2 Serious +9.4
St. Clair County, MO 64.7 Elevated +8.9
Cedar County, MO 63.1 Elevated +7.4
Bourbon County, KS 59.3 Elevated +3.6
Barton County, MO 59.1 Elevated +3.4
Bates County, MO 56.2 Elevated +0.5
Linn County, KS 53.3 Elevated -2.5

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Vernon County
Hot Spring County, AR 55.8 Elevated 0.0
Lamar County, AL 55.8 Elevated +0.0
Panola County, TX 55.8 Elevated +0.0
Cowley County, KS 55.7 Elevated -0.0
Tishomingo County, MS 55.7 Elevated -0.0

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