About one in three people in Bolivar County, Mississippi, lives below the poverty line
In Bolivar County, 30.0% of people lived below the poverty line (Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024). That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bolivar County's score
In Bolivar County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 96.7. People with a car or retail loan behind: 16.0%, August 2025, higher than in 99% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 91.5.
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.
Bolivar County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Bolivar 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.
- 96.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind16.0% · August 202599th percentile
- People with a credit card behind9.2% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.6% · Q4 202598th percentile
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- 91.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.7% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people310.7 · 202592nd percentile
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- 88.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line47.6% · 202499th percentile
- People with a disability18.9% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$44,329 · 202497th percentile
- People below the poverty line30.0% · 202498th percentile
- People without health insurance11.2% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
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- 83.7 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working34.9% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average4.6% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202671st percentile
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- 83.0 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 income24.5% · fiscal year 202780th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent24.5% · 2020 to 202485th 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 Bolivar 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
Bolivar County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bolivar County in 2024, pay from work was 48 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 15 cents. Benefit checks were 37 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 13 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Bolivar County, benefit checks rose from 13 to 37 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Bolivar County, Mississippi: 37.0% and 48.0% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 37.0% of all personal income in Bolivar 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 Bolivar County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How Bolivar County has changed
The number of people living in Bolivar County fell by about four in 10 between 1969 and 2024, from 50,112 to 28,395. The number of jobs located there stayed about the same from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 8.8% in 1990 to 4.8% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 50,112 | 2024 28,395 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 11,672 | 2024 10,569 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.8% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 46.5% | 2024 30.0% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $14,076 | 2024 $44,329 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 13.3% | 2024 37.0% |
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 Bolivar County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 71,051. The 2020 Census counted 30,985, 44% of the peak. Census Bureau
1836
Established February 9, 1836 on originally Choctaw land. Wikipedia
1982
Tornado: $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
Tornado: $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
Tornado: $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
Tornado: $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bolivar County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Bolivar County beside its neighbors
Bolivar County scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Mississippi and Arkansas. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bolivar County ranks 5th of the seven; Phillips County is highest, at 43.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolivar County, MS | 99 | 30.0% | 37.0% |
| Phillips County, AR | 99 | 35.8% | 43.4% |
| Coahoma County, MS | 99 | 34.9% | 41.1% |
| Washington County, MS | 99 | 29.4% | 36.1% |
| Desha County, AR | 98 | 25.9% | 36.7% |
| Chicot County, AR | 97 | 27.9% | 41.3% |
| Sunflower County, MS | 96 | 29.8% | 39.6% |
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 Bolivar County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Bolivar County's poverty rate was 30.0% in 2024, 12th 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, Bolivar County ranks 7th of 82 in the state.
Bolivar County in photographs
Places in Bolivar County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
MS8 West - Bolivar County.
Photo: formulanone from Huntsville, United States via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Airplane house in Bolivar, Mississippi.
Bolivar County, Mississippi: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Bolivar County, Mississippi?
30.0% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in three people. Among children it was 47.6%.
Is Bolivar County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Bolivar County's poverty rate was 30.0% in 2024, 12th 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, Bolivar County ranks 7th of 82 in the state.
What is the population of Bolivar County, Mississippi?
About 28,395 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 30,985, 44% of the county's peak of 71,051 in 1930.
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 Bolivar 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 1,311 approved agencies 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 Bolivar County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
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 Bolivar County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.