In Claiborne County, Mississippi, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2015
In 2024, 47 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Claiborne County's score
In Claiborne County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 95.0. People with a credit card behind: 17.6%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 95.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Claiborne 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.
Claiborne County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (13.4%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind17.6% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind16.5% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score71.8% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 95.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not working47.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 94.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector42.9% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people336.5 · 202593rd percentile
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- 80.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line33.3% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line45.2% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability13.4% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- People without health insurance15.1% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$38,548 · 2024top 5%
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- 61.6 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 rent14.6% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.2% · fiscal year 202793rd 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 Claiborne 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 Claiborne County, 19.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Claiborne County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Claiborne County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Mississippi
In Claiborne County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 47.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Claiborne County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 25.7% in 2020 to 20.9% in 2021.
The share of households in Claiborne County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 23.7%
Low on the chart: 12.2% 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, Claiborne County, Mississippi.
How Claiborne County has changed
Claiborne County's population had its largest rise, from 10,195 in 1969 to 11,420 in 1974.
Claiborne County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 12,297 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Claiborne County, Mississippi.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Claiborne County fell by about a quarter to 3,260, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2000 and 2005
Biggest drop: 2000 to 2005, reaching 3,276. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Claiborne County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 15.1% | 2025 9.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 44.3% | 2024 33.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,950 | 2024 $38,548 |
The table uses 9.0% for 2025; the score uses 7.7% 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 Claiborne County's history
1802
1802 as the fourth county in the Mississippi Territory; originally settled by French, Spanish, and English colonists. Wikipedia
1858
Grand Gulf Mississippi River port declined from 1000-1500 residents 1858 to 150 by end of century ghost town. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 20,787. The 2020 Census counted 9,135, 44% of the peak. Census Bureau
1907
Outmigration to Indian Territory with 4000 population loss expected by 1910 census. Wikipedia
1978
A tornado in April 1978 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
Port Gibson Oil Works cottonseed mill closed 2002. Wikipedia
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Since 1965
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Claiborne County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Claiborne County beside its neighbors
Claiborne County scores higher than all five counties that border it, in Mississippi and Louisiana. Of the group, Claiborne County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (47.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claiborne County, MS | 98 | 33.3% | 47.1% |
| Hinds County, MS | 98 | 22.2% | 26.8% |
| Tensas Parish, LA | 97 | 27.4% | 39.0% |
| Jefferson County, MS | 97 | 30.5% | 42.7% |
| Copiah County, MS | 96 | 19.5% | 35.8% |
| Warren County, MS | 88 | 18.8% | 28.2% |
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 Claiborne County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Claiborne County's poverty rate was 33.3% in 2024, 4th 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, Claiborne County ranks 13th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Claiborne 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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Mississippi Center for 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 Claiborne 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 Claiborne County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.