In Wayne County, Missouri, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2009
In 2024, 48 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wayne County's score
In Wayne County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 91.3. About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 (35.3%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 88.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wayne 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.
Wayne County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.3 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202687th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working35.3% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 88.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.6% · 202486th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.7% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability29.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance13.5% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,716 · 202488th percentile
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- 84.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.2% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.2% · August 202584th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.9% · second quarter of 202684th percentile
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- 82.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.4% · August 202584th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people222 · 202580th percentile
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- 68.2 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 rent21.7% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County, 25.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wayne County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Wayne County, benefit checks have brought in more than pay since 2009
In Wayne County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 47.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wayne County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 23.7% in 2009 to 19.5% in 2010.
The share of households in Wayne County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 18.3%, with its low point on the chart in 2021
Low on the chart: 16.3% 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, Wayne County, Missouri.
How Wayne County has changed
Wayne County's population had its largest drop, from 12,711 in 2014 to 11,225 in 2019.
Wayne County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 13,486 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wayne County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Wayne County fell by about a quarter to 2,272, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest drop: 1990 to 1995, reaching 2,299. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wayne County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.8% | 2025 5.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.5% | 2024 19.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $12,959 | 2024 $51,716 |
The table uses 5.8% for 2025; the score uses 5.4% 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 Wayne County's history
1818
Created December 1818 by Missouri Territorial Legislature from portions of Cape Girardeau and Lawrence counties. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 15,309. The 2020 Census counted 10,974, 72% of the peak. Census Bureau
1941
Greenville relocated 2 miles north in 1941 due to Lake Wappapello construction. Wikipedia
2011
A flash flood in May 2011 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A tornado in March 2025 did $4 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A tornado in March 2025 did $3 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A tornado in March 2025 did $1.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wayne County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wayne County beside its neighbors
Wayne County scores higher than all seven counties that border it. Of the group, Wayne County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (47.6%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne County, MO | 97 | 19.6% | 47.6% |
| Butler County, MO | 93 | 20.3% | 38.2% |
| Iron County, MO | 82 | 18.2% | 47.1% |
| Carter County, MO | 81 | 17.1% | 40.8% |
| Reynolds County, MO | 73 | 18.6% | 45.2% |
| Madison County, MO | 72 | 15.1% | 41.7% |
| Stoddard County, MO | 70 | 14.8% | 34.9% |
| Bollinger County, MO | 54 | 14.5% | 35.6% |
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 Wayne County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Wayne County's poverty rate was 19.6% in 2024, 10th 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, Wayne County ranks 3rd of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wayne 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 Wayne County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.