About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Amite County, Mississippi, are not working
In Amite County, 40.7% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Amite County's score
In Amite County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 89.4. About one in four people (24.2%, 2020 to 2024) has a disability, a higher share than in 94% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 85.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Amite 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.
Amite County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 89.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.0% · 202491st percentile
- Children below the poverty line29.7% · 202491st percentile
- People with a disability24.2% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- People without health insurance11.4% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,604 · 202493rd percentile
-
- 85.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.8% · August 202570th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.2% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score55.7% · second quarter of 202690th percentile
-
- 80.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202665th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working40.7% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
-
- 76.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.1% · August 202564th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people281.3 · 202588th percentile
-
- 49.6 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 rent15.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th percentile
-
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 Amite 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 Amite County, 26.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Amite County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Amite County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 34.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Amite County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.6%; 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 Amite County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a third to 15.2%, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2022 and 2023
High on the chart: 22.7% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Amite County, Mississippi.
How Amite County has changed
Amite County's population fell 11% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 1969 and 1974
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 13,032. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Amite County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Amite County fell most sharply after its 2000 high, from 2,263 in 2000 to 1,888 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Amite County was about the same in 2025 as in 1990, after reaching its lowest on the chart in 2010
Low on the chart: 1,687 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Amite County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.1% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.4% | 2024 22.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,952 | 2024 $48,604 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.4% 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 Amite County's history
1809
Amite County was established in February 1809 from the eastern portion of Wilkinson County. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 22,954. The 2020 Census counted 12,720, 55% of the peak. Census Bureau
-
Since 1965
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Amite County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Amite County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Amite County, in Mississippi and Louisiana, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Amite County ranks 4th of the eight; Wilkinson County is highest, at 43.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkinson County, MS | 99 | 31.6% | 43.4% |
| Pike County, MS | 98 | 21.4% | 39.1% |
| St. Helena Parish, LA | 95 | 20.8% | 31.4% |
| Tangipahoa Parish, LA | 93 | 19.4% | 29.8% |
| Amite County, MS | 91 | 22.0% | 34.6% |
| Franklin County, MS | 90 | 18.8% | 38.1% |
| Lincoln County, MS | 87 | 16.2% | 29.0% |
| East Feliciana Parish, LA | 64 | 18.4% | 31.7% |
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 Amite County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Amite County's poverty rate was 22.0% in 2024, 25th 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, Amite County ranks 38th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Amite 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.
-
Mississippi Center for Legal Services
Legal aid
-
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 Amite County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.