About one in 13 people with a credit file in Worth County, Missouri, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Worth County, 7.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 99% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Worth County's score
In Worth County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 62.9. Jobs are the lowest part, at 10.2. About one in nine adults aged 25 to 54 (11.8%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a lower share than in 94% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Worth 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, Worth County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (19.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 62.9 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 line21.8% · 202471st percentile
- People with a disability19.2% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- People without health insurance7.9% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,490 · 202453rd percentile
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- 41.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202544th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202559th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.3% · second quarter of 202620th percentile
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- 33.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector7.5% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people157.3 · 202562nd percentile
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- 16.6 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 rent7.9% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.4% · fiscal year 202725th percentile
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- 10.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202614th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working11.8% · 2020 to 20245th 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 Worth 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 Worth County, 26.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Worth County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Worth County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 32.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Worth County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Worth County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 8.4% in 2019 to 11.1% in 2020; 13.7% in 2023 to 11.0% in 2024.
The share of households in Worth County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 5.8% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Worth County, Missouri.
How Worth County has changed
Worth County's population fell 45% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 2,483. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Worth County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Worth County had its largest drop, from 552 in 1995 to 448 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Worth County fell 38% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 587 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Worth County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.7% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.8% | 2024 14.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,099 | 2024 $65,490 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Worth County's history
1861
Founded: February 8, 1861. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 9,832. The 2020 Census counted 1,973, 20% of the peak. Census Bureau
1958
A tornado in October 1958 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Worth County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Worth County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Worth County, in Missouri and Iowa, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Worth County ranks 3rd of the six; Harrison County is highest, at 36.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison County, MO | 51 | 15.9% | 36.0% |
| Gentry County, MO | 28 | 13.8% | 32.8% |
| Worth County, MO | 21 | 14.8% | 32.8% |
| Nodaway County, MO | 18 | 15.0% | 27.6% |
| Taylor County, IA | 10 | 12.4% | 28.9% |
| Ringgold County, IA | 10 | 13.3% | 30.6% |
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 Worth County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Worth 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, Worth County ranks 104th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Worth 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 Aid of Western 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 Worth County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.