About one in five people in Attala County, Mississippi, lives below the poverty line
In Attala County, 19.5% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 85% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Attala County's score
In Attala County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 89.4. Bankruptcy filings ran at 414.8 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 87.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Attala 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.
Attala County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 89.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.1% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people414.8 · 2025top 5%
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- 87.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.3% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.7% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.3% · second quarter of 202692nd percentile
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- 76.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.5% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line29.1% · 202490th percentile
- People with a disability16.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- People without health insurance8.5% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,806 · 202491st percentile
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- 63.5 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 rent20.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.8% · fiscal year 202761st percentile
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- 45.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.3% · 2020 to 202453rd 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 Attala 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 Attala County, 19.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Attala County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Attala County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 36.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Attala County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Attala County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.2% in 2013 to 22.7% in 2014.
The share of households in Attala County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 15.6%
Low on the chart: 13.8% 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, Attala County, Mississippi.
How Attala County has changed
Attala County's population fell 13% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2009 to 2014, reaching 18,747. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Attala County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Attala County had its largest drop, from 5,378 in 2005 to 4,612 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Attala County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 5,785 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Attala County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.2% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 30.6% | 2024 19.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,438 | 2024 $49,806 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Attala County's history
1833
Founded in 1833. Wikipedia
1850
Choate family forcibly removed to Indian Territory Oklahoma in 1850 by Indian Removal Act. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 30,227. The 2020 Census counted 17,889, 59% of the peak. Census Bureau
1950
A tornado in June 1950 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1992
A tornado in November 1992 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
A tornado in April 2010 did $60 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in January 2011 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Attala County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Attala County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Attala County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Attala County ranks 3rd of the eight; Holmes County is highest, at 54.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holmes County, MS | 100 | 34.3% | 54.4% |
| Montgomery County, MS | 97 | 22.8% | 43.8% |
| Winston County, MS | 93 | 22.0% | 34.7% |
| Attala County, MS | 87 | 19.5% | 36.2% |
| Leake County, MS | 87 | 20.8% | 32.6% |
| Choctaw County, MS | 85 | 20.6% | 33.9% |
| Carroll County, MS | 69 | 15.8% | 33.1% |
| Madison County, MS | 37 | 9.9% | 12.4% |
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 Attala County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Attala County's poverty rate was 19.5% in 2024, 46th 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, Attala County ranks 45th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Attala 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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North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
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 Attala 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 Attala County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.