About one in three adults aged 25 to 54 in Adams County, Mississippi, is not working
In Adams County, 36.0% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working (Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024). That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Adams County's score
In Adams County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 95.2. People with a car or retail loan behind: 13.3%, August 2025, higher than in 98% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 91.6.
The County Distress Index combines five things we measure for every county: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each gets a score from 0 to 100; the higher the score, the worse off the county is compared with others.
Adams County does better than most counties on one measure: people with a disability (14.7%, 2020 to 2024).
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Adams County ranks among all 3,144 U.S. counties on that measure, as a percentile: the share of counties it is higher than. A longer bar means more trouble.
- 95.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind13.3% · August 202598th percentile
- People with a credit card behind11.3% · August 202597th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.0% · Q4 202589th percentile
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- 91.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.2% · August 202592nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people292.2 · 202590th percentile
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- 91.4 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working36.0% · 2020 to 202496th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average5.3% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202686th percentile
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- 80.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line36.0% · 202496th percentile
- People with a disability14.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$45,515 · 202496th percentile
- People below the poverty line24.0% · 202494th percentile
- People without health insurance11.3% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
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- 68.7 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.9% · fiscal year 202777th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent19.8% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
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Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
Where the money in Adams County comes from
The Bureau of Economic Analysis adds up all the income that reaches the people of a county and splits it three ways: pay from work, income from investments and rent, and benefit checks.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Adams County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Adams County in 2024, pay from work was 42 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 22 cents. Benefit checks were 36 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 9 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Adams County, benefit checks rose from 9 to 36 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Adams County, Mississippi: 35.6% and 42.3% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 35.6% of all personal income in Adams County, Mississippi (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC4).
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 Adams County, 22.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How Adams County has changed
The number of people living in Adams County fell by about two in 10 between 1969 and 2024, from 37,491 to 28,674. The number of jobs located there fell by about two in 10 from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 7.9% in 1990 to 5.7% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 37,491 | 2024 28,674 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 13,280 | 2024 10,115 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.9% | 2025 5.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 30.2% | 2024 24.0% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $16,634 | 2024 $45,515 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 8.9% | 2024 35.6% |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices. We don't chart the distress score over time because it compares counties at one moment.
Dated events in Adams County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 38,035. The 2020 Census counted 29,538, 78% of the peak. Census Bureau
1799
Adams County was created on April 2, 1799, from part of Pickering Territorial County. Wikipedia
1987
Tornado: $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
Thunderstorm wind: $30 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
Thunderstorm wind: one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
Flash flood: one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Adams County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Adams County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Adams County, in Mississippi and Louisiana, two score higher. Of the group, Adams County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Wilkinson County gets the largest, at 43.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concordia Parish, LA | 99 | 27.7% | 40.9% |
| Wilkinson County, MS | 99 | 31.6% | 43.4% |
| Adams County, MS | 98 | 24.0% | 35.6% |
| Tensas Parish, LA | 97 | 27.4% | 39.0% |
| Jefferson County, MS | 97 | 30.5% | 42.7% |
| Franklin County, MS | 89 | 18.8% | 38.1% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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 Adams County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Adams County's poverty rate was 24.0% in 2024, 19th highest of 82 in Mississippi (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Issaquena County, at 55.7%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Adams County ranks 12th of 82 in the state.
Adams County in photographs
Places in Adams County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
Adams County Courthouse in Natchez, MS.
Aerial view southeastward centered on the Mississippi River along the border of Concordia Parish, Louisiana and Adams County, Mississippi from an aircraft heading towards George Bush.
Adams County, Mississippi: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Adams County, Mississippi?
24.0% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in four people. Among children it was 36.0%.
Is Adams County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Adams County's poverty rate was 24.0% in 2024, 19th highest of 82 in Mississippi (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Issaquena County, at 55.7%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Adams County ranks 12th of 82 in the state.
What is the population of Adams County, Mississippi?
About 28,674 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 29,538, 78% of the county's peak of 38,035 in 1980.
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
We rank every U.S. county on 14 federal measures of money trouble, grouped into five equally weighted parts, and average them. The published score is the share of the other 3,143 counties with a lower average. The methodology lists every measure and its source.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Adams County
A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved housing counselor works at a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The counseling to avoid foreclosure is free, and a counselor can help you talk to your mortgage company and understand what it offers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection BureauSourceCFPB.
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Mississippi Center for Legal Services
Legal aid
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North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Counseling to avoid foreclosure is free. Our help directory lists 1,313 approved agencies 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 Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Adams County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.