About one in four people in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, lives below the poverty line
In Chickasaw County, 23.1% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Chickasaw County's score
In Chickasaw County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 88.6. About three in five people (60.8%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 84.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Chickasaw 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.
Chickasaw County does better than most counties on one measure: people with a disability (14.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.3% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.5% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score60.8% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
-
- 84.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.2% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people569.2 · 2025top 5%
-
- 78.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line23.1% · 202494th percentile
- Children below the poverty line30.8% · 202492nd percentile
- People with a disability14.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- People without health insurance11.0% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,080 · 2024top 5%
-
- 71.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202660th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.5% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
-
- 67.0 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 rent19.6% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.6% · fiscal year 202775th 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 Chickasaw 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 Chickasaw County, 18.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Chickasaw County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Chickasaw County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 39.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Chickasaw County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 39.9%; 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 Chickasaw County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a third
Biggest drop: 2020 to 2021, reaching 16.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Chickasaw County, Mississippi.
How Chickasaw County has changed
Chickasaw County's population had its largest drop, from 18,642 in 2004 to 17,439 in 2009.
Chickasaw County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 19,454 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Chickasaw County, Mississippi.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Chickasaw County fell by about half to 4,330, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2000 to 2005, reaching 6,334. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Chickasaw County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 14.0% | 2025 4.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.1% | 2024 23.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,222 | 2024 $46,080 |
The table uses 4.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Chickasaw County's history
1836
Created February 9, 1836 following the cession of the land by the Chickasaw Indians. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 22,846. The 2020 Census counted 17,106, 75% of the peak. Census Bureau
1988
A tornado in January 1988 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in May 2003 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 did $2 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A thunderstorm in August 2023 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1973
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Chickasaw County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Chickasaw County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Chickasaw County, one scores higher. Of the group, Chickasaw County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (39.9%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County, MS | 95 | 20.6% | 31.0% |
| Monroe County, MS | 93 | 18.2% | 33.5% |
| Chickasaw County, MS | 93 | 23.1% | 39.9% |
| Calhoun County, MS | 83 | 18.6% | 39.8% |
| Lee County, MS | 77 | 16.2% | 24.3% |
| Pontotoc County, MS | 68 | 14.9% | 27.0% |
| Webster County, MS | 65 | 15.3% | 36.5% |
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 Chickasaw County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Chickasaw County's poverty rate was 23.1% in 2024, 21st 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, Chickasaw County ranks 29th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Chickasaw 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.
-
North Mississippi Rural 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.
Download the CSV for Chickasaw 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 Chickasaw County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.