Benefit checks make up 40 cents of every dollar of income in Calhoun County, Mississippi
In Calhoun County, 39.8% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Calhoun County's score
In Calhoun County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 85.3. Bankruptcy filings ran at 449.3 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 85.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Calhoun 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.
Calhoun County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.2%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.6% · August 202575th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people449.3 · 2025top 5%
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- 85.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.6% · 202482nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.2% · 202479th percentile
- People with a disability22.5% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- People without health insurance12.0% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,890 · 2024top 5%
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- 81.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.5% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.7% · second quarter of 202679th percentile
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- 48.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.4% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
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- 47.8 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 rent13.2% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.2% · fiscal year 202772nd 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County, 20.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Calhoun County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Calhoun County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 39.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Calhoun County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Calhoun County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 17.4% in 2018 to 15.0% in 2019.
The share of households in Calhoun County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 13.0% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Calhoun County, Mississippi.
How Calhoun County has changed
Calhoun County's population had its largest drop, from 14,256 in 2014 to 13,411 in 2019.
Calhoun County's population fell 14% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 15,549 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Calhoun County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Calhoun County had its largest drop, from 4,524 in 1995 to 3,941 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Calhoun County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and is down 37% since
High on the chart: 4,524 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Calhoun County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.7% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.4% | 2024 18.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,957 | 2024 $46,890 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Calhoun County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 20,893. The 2020 Census counted 13,266, 63% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Calhoun County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Calhoun County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Calhoun County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Calhoun County ranks 3rd of the seven; Yalobusha County is highest, at 43.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chickasaw County, MS | 93 | 23.1% | 39.9% |
| Grenada County, MS | 92 | 19.4% | 37.4% |
| Yalobusha County, MS | 88 | 18.7% | 43.7% |
| Calhoun County, MS | 83 | 18.6% | 39.8% |
| Pontotoc County, MS | 68 | 14.9% | 27.0% |
| Webster County, MS | 65 | 15.3% | 36.5% |
| Lafayette County, MS | 53 | 17.9% | 19.0% |
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 Calhoun County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Calhoun County's poverty rate was 18.6% in 2024, 56th 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, Calhoun County ranks 57th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Calhoun 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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.