About three in ten people in Bolivar County, Mississippi, live below the poverty line
In Bolivar County, 30.0% of people lived below the poverty line. 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 95.9. 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 looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bolivar 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.
Bolivar County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.2% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind16.0% · August 202599th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score60.2% · second quarter of 202696th 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
- People below the poverty line30.0% · 202498th percentile
- Children below the poverty line47.6% · 202499th percentile
- People with a disability18.9% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- People without health insurance11.2% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$44,329 · 202497th percentile
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- 83.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202671st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working34.9% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
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- 83.0 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 rent24.5% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.5% · fiscal year 202780th 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 Bolivar 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 Bolivar County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bolivar County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Bolivar County had its largest rise, from 13.3% in 1969 to 18.8% in 1974.
In Bolivar County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 30% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Bolivar County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 37.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bolivar County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 28.1% in 2019 to 25.6% in 2020.
The share of households in Bolivar County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 25.2% 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, Bolivar County, Mississippi.
How Bolivar County has changed
Bolivar County's population had its largest drop, from 40,854 in 1999 to 37,211 in 2004.
Bolivar County's population fell 43% from 1969 to 2024, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1989 to 1994, reaching 41,963. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bolivar County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Bolivar County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 11,769 in 2015 to 10,137 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Bolivar County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 12,869 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bolivar County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.8% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 46.5% | 2024 30.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,076 | 2024 $44,329 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Bolivar County's history
1836
Established February 9, 1836 on originally Choctaw land. Wikipedia
1930
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
1982
A tornado in September 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in November 2001 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in September 2011 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A tornado in January 2020 did $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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips County, AR | 99 | 35.8% | 43.4% |
| Washington County, MS | 99 | 29.4% | 36.1% |
| Coahoma County, MS | 99 | 34.9% | 41.1% |
| Bolivar County, MS | 99 | 30.0% | 37.0% |
| 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 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 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.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bolivar 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 Bolivar 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 Bolivar County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.