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Cliff-Zone Families
158,846
Total Wage Suppression
$115.6M
State Avg Cliff Zone
17.1%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In Missouri, an estimated 158,846 families across 115 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis County | 995,569 | 12.6% | 19,849 | $14.5M | 435% |
| Jackson County | 719,976 | 17.7% | 19,537 | $14.2M | 477% |
| Greene County | 303,375 | 20.5% | 9,110 | $6.6M | 399% |
| St. Louis city | 288,512 | 17.3% | 6,490 | $4.7M | 435% |
| Jefferson County | 229,458 | 13.8% | 5,728 | $4.2M | 435% |
| St. Charles County | 414,535 | 8.7% | 5,448 | $4.0M | 435% |
| Clay County | 258,122 | 13.5% | 5,379 | $3.9M | 477% |
| Jasper County | 124,357 | 21.2% | 3,995 | $2.9M | 381% |
| Boone County | 188,043 | 13.5% | 3,145 | $2.3M | 418% |
| Franklin County | 105,950 | 17.7% | 2,953 | $2.1M | 435% |
| Cass County | 110,773 | 13.7% | 2,685 | $2.0M | 477% |
| Christian County | 92,915 | 14.8% | 2,490 | $1.8M | 399% |
| Buchanan County | 83,568 | 20.2% | 2,355 | $1.7M | 393% |
| St. Francois County | 66,999 | 22.7% | 2,283 | $1.7M | 381% |
| Platte County | 110,371 | 11.6% | 2,235 | $1.6M | 477% |
| Newton County | 60,118 | 22.2% | 2,205 | $1.6M | 381% |
| Cape Girardeau County | 82,735 | 18.1% | 2,195 | $1.6M | 381% |
| Pulaski County | 53,894 | 22.3% | 1,801 | $1.3M | 389% |
| Taney County | 56,529 | 22.8% | 1,763 | $1.3M | 381% |
| Laclede County | 36,390 | 26.6% | 1,717 | $1.2M | 381% |
| Howell County | 40,383 | 26.3% | 1,716 | $1.2M | 381% |
| Johnson County | 54,732 | 19.9% | 1,681 | $1.2M | 381% |
| Lincoln County | 63,057 | 13.0% | 1,554 | $1.1M | 435% |
| Pettis County | 43,397 | 23.4% | 1,549 | $1.1M | 381% |
| Lawrence County | 38,593 | 25.1% | 1,524 | $1.1M | 381% |
| Scott County | 37,933 | 24.1% | 1,488 | $1.1M | 381% |
| Butler County | 42,020 | 27.5% | 1,474 | $1.1M | 381% |
| Phelps County | 45,194 | 20.6% | 1,297 | $944K | 381% |
| Cole County | 77,032 | 12.7% | 1,261 | $918K | 381% |
| Webster County | 40,500 | 20.5% | 1,233 | $898K | 399% |
| Barry County | 35,033 | 23.0% | 1,229 | $895K | 381% |
| McDonald County | 23,701 | 29.7% | 1,144 | $833K | 381% |
| Stoddard County | 28,470 | 25.6% | 1,086 | $791K | 381% |
| Dunklin County | 27,493 | 23.2% | 1,072 | $780K | 381% |
| Polk County | 32,444 | 21.6% | 1,043 | $759K | 381% |
| Callaway County | 44,741 | 15.4% | 1,020 | $743K | 383% |
| Camden County | 43,667 | 16.9% | 973 | $708K | 381% |
| Randolph County | 24,365 | 23.8% | 929 | $676K | 381% |
| Marion County | 28,457 | 19.7% | 915 | $666K | 381% |
| Texas County | 25,161 | 28.2% | 905 | $659K | 381% |
| Washington County | 23,470 | 25.1% | 849 | $618K | 381% |
| Crawford County | 22,797 | 24.4% | 841 | $612K | 381% |
| Miller County | 25,269 | 23.0% | 814 | $593K | 381% |
| Lafayette County | 33,115 | 17.0% | 810 | $590K | 477% |
| Wright County | 18,965 | 26.3% | 806 | $587K | 381% |
| Warren County | 37,177 | 14.2% | 795 | $579K | 435% |
| Stone County | 32,048 | 20.1% | 771 | $561K | 381% |
| Henry County | 22,328 | 21.6% | 754 | $549K | 381% |
| Audrain County | 24,548 | 19.9% | 729 | $531K | 381% |
| Vernon County | 19,687 | 25.4% | 723 | $526K | 381% |
| New Madrid County | 15,731 | 27.4% | 682 | $496K | 381% |
| Morgan County | 21,717 | 23.4% | 678 | $494K | 381% |
| Ray County | 23,145 | 16.7% | 642 | $467K | 477% |
| Dallas County | 17,551 | 20.6% | 615 | $448K | 381% |
| Pemiscot County | 14,958 | 23.9% | 608 | $443K | 381% |
| Andrew County | 18,065 | 19.8% | 590 | $430K | 393% |
| Dent County | 14,539 | 27.2% | 580 | $422K | 381% |
| Cedar County | 14,615 | 30.0% | 552 | $402K | 381% |
| Saline County | 23,231 | 20.7% | 551 | $401K | 381% |
| Nodaway County | 20,774 | 20.8% | 538 | $392K | 381% |
| Moniteau County | 15,262 | 21.8% | 517 | $376K | 381% |
| Gasconade County | 14,746 | 21.8% | 510 | $371K | 381% |
| Ste. Genevieve County | 18,571 | 18.5% | 504 | $367K | 381% |
| Perry County | 18,976 | 17.3% | 498 | $363K | 381% |
| Pike County | 17,711 | 21.0% | 482 | $351K | 381% |
| Macon County | 15,163 | 23.0% | 476 | $347K | 381% |
| Douglas County | 11,965 | 28.3% | 476 | $347K | 381% |
| Bates County | 16,186 | 18.4% | 470 | $342K | 381% |
| Adair County | 25,301 | 17.9% | 457 | $333K | 381% |
| Clinton County | 21,414 | 15.1% | 442 | $322K | 477% |
| Barton County | 11,690 | 24.5% | 438 | $319K | 381% |
| Livingston County | 14,364 | 22.1% | 437 | $318K | 381% |
| Cooper County | 16,824 | 17.2% | 434 | $316K | 381% |
| Wayne County | 10,862 | 24.6% | 388 | $282K | 381% |
| Benton County | 20,151 | 20.2% | 382 | $278K | 381% |
| Mississippi County | 11,902 | 25.3% | 380 | $277K | 381% |
| Montgomery County | 11,426 | 19.1% | 375 | $273K | 381% |
| Madison County | 12,729 | 19.8% | 358 | $261K | 381% |
| Ripley County | 10,708 | 27.3% | 358 | $261K | 381% |
| St. Clair County | 9,587 | 26.2% | 348 | $253K | 381% |
| Bollinger County | 10,559 | 21.8% | 343 | $250K | 381% |
| Caldwell County | 8,927 | 21.2% | 341 | $248K | 477% |
| Harrison County | 8,190 | 24.1% | 340 | $248K | 381% |
| Iron County | 9,446 | 25.1% | 335 | $244K | 381% |
| Linn County | 11,852 | 19.4% | 324 | $236K | 381% |
| Howard County | 10,147 | 24.5% | 313 | $228K | 383% |
| Ozark County | 8,873 | 24.0% | 299 | $218K | 381% |
| Daviess County | 8,477 | 22.8% | 288 | $210K | 381% |
| Hickory County | 8,585 | 33.1% | 281 | $205K | 381% |
| Oregon County | 8,673 | 26.2% | 277 | $202K | 381% |
| Carroll County | 8,411 | 22.5% | 269 | $196K | 381% |
| Shelby County | 5,986 | 28.1% | 267 | $194K | 381% |
| Clark County | 6,675 | 29.0% | 263 | $191K | 381% |
| Dade County | 7,641 | 26.7% | 259 | $189K | 381% |
| Shannon County | 7,177 | 25.9% | 256 | $186K | 381% |
| Osage County | 13,402 | 12.5% | 253 | $184K | 381% |
| Ralls County | 10,428 | 17.5% | 248 | $181K | 381% |
| Grundy County | 9,787 | 21.7% | 246 | $179K | 381% |
| Carter County | 5,297 | 30.8% | 230 | $167K | 381% |
| Monroe County | 8,734 | 19.1% | 229 | $167K | 381% |
| Atchison County | 5,187 | 25.1% | 224 | $163K | 381% |
| DeKalb County | 10,876 | 19.3% | 222 | $162K | 393% |
| Reynolds County | 6,010 | 26.1% | 197 | $143K | 381% |
| Chariton County | 7,390 | 18.8% | 193 | $141K | 381% |
| Maries County | 8,450 | 15.0% | 160 | $116K | 381% |
| Sullivan County | 5,857 | 25.1% | 154 | $112K | 381% |
| Holt County | 4,240 | 24.0% | 154 | $112K | 381% |
| Gentry County | 6,245 | 16.8% | 133 | $97K | 381% |
| Lewis County | 9,924 | 15.1% | 117 | $85K | 381% |
| Mercer County | 3,482 | 30.2% | 117 | $85K | 381% |
| Knox County | 3,756 | 16.6% | 99 | $72K | 381% |
| Scotland County | 4,686 | 17.3% | 91 | $66K | 381% |
| Schuyler County | 4,038 | 26.0% | 88 | $64K | 381% |
| Worth County | 1,934 | 21.6% | 65 | $47K | 381% |
| Putnam County | 4,642 | 15.2% | 57 | $41K | 381% |
115 of 115 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.