Benefit checks make up 37 cents of every dollar of income in Wright County, Missouri
In Wright County, 37.4% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wright County's score
In Wright County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 80.4. The typical household earns $50,836 a year (2024), less than in 90% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 73.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wright 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.
Wright County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.0% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.3% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability17.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- People without health insurance13.5% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,836 · 202490th percentile
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- 73.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202671st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.3% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
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- 56.8 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.5% · August 202550th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.3% · August 202552nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.3% · second quarter of 202667th percentile
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- 54.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.4% · August 202554th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people134 · 202553rd percentile
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- 43.1 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 rent11.6% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.7% · fiscal year 202768th 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 Wright 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 Wright County, 19.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wright County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Wright County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 32.6% in 2004 to 38.9% in 2009.
In Wright County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 36% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Wright County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 37.4%; 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 Wright County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 18.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wright County, Missouri.
How Wright County has changed
Wright County's population rose 41% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 15,240. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wright County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Wright County had its largest rise in the last span, from 3,854 in 2020 to 4,678 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Wright County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2020, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 3,854 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wright County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.4% | 2025 5.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.0% | 2024 19.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,363 | 2024 $50,836 |
The table uses 5.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Wright County's history
1841
Founded: January 29, 1841. Wikipedia
2002
A flash flood in May 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flash flood in April 2008 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 18,815. The 2020 Census counted 18,188, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
2023
A flash flood in March 2023 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flood in November 2024 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1976
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wright County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wright County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Wright County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wright County ranks 2nd of the five; Douglas County is highest, at 38.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas County, MO | 77 | 19.3% | 36.5% |
| Douglas County, MO | 74 | 17.8% | 38.6% |
| Wright County, MO | 70 | 19.0% | 37.4% |
| Laclede County, MO | 68 | 14.9% | 30.9% |
| Webster County, MO | 48 | 15.0% | 27.3% |
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 Wright County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Wright County's poverty rate was 19.0% in 2024, 14th 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, Wright County ranks 29th of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wright 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.
Download the CSV for Wright 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 Wright County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.