About one in five people in Clay County, Mississippi, lives below the poverty line
In Clay County, 20.6% of people lived below the poverty line (Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024). That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 95% of U.S. counties.
What drives Clay County's score
In Clay County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 93.0. People with a credit card behind: 10.5%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 89.9.
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.
Clay County does better than most counties on one measure: people with a disability (12.0%, 2020 to 2024).
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Clay 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.
- 93.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.1% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a credit card behind10.5% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.8% · Q4 202595th percentile
-
- 89.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.4% · August 202584th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people730.5 · 202595th percentile
-
- 78.3 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 income23.2% · fiscal year 202772nd percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent24.2% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
-
- 71.8 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.9% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average4.6% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202670th percentile
-
- 70.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line31.3% · 202493rd percentile
- People with a disability12.0% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,829 · 202495th percentile
- People below the poverty line20.6% · 202488th percentile
- People without health insurance9.1% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
-
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 Clay 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
Clay County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Clay County in 2024, pay from work was 51 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 18 cents. Benefit checks were 31 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 11 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Clay County, benefit checks rose from 11 to 31 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Clay County, Mississippi: 31.0% and 50.6% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 31.0% of all personal income in Clay 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 Clay County, 19.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How Clay County has changed
The number of people living in Clay County stayed about the same between 1969 and 2024, from 18,899 to 18,213. The number of jobs located there fell by about two in 10 from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 10.8% in 1990 to 4.6% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 18,899 | 2024 18,213 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 8,148 | 2024 6,531 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.8% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.8% | 2024 20.6% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $19,937 | 2024 $46,829 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 10.5% | 2024 31.0% |
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 Clay County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 21,979. The 2020 Census counted 18,636, 85% of the peak. Census Bureau
1871
Established in 1871. Wikipedia
1980
Tornado: one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
1988
Tornado: $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
Bryan Foods closed in West Point in March 2007. Wikipedia
-
Since 1973
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Clay County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Clay County beside its neighbors
Clay County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Clay County ranks 4th of the six; Chickasaw County is highest, at 39.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County, MS | 95 | 20.6% | 31.0% |
| Chickasaw County, MS | 93 | 23.1% | 39.9% |
| Monroe County, MS | 93 | 18.2% | 33.5% |
| Oktibbeha County, MS | 84 | 19.4% | 23.5% |
| Lowndes County, MS | 81 | 17.5% | 27.0% |
| Webster County, MS | 66 | 15.3% | 36.5% |
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 Clay County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Clay County's poverty rate was 20.6% in 2024, 34th 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, Clay County ranks 23rd of 82 in the state.
Clay County in photographs
Places in Clay County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
City Hall, West Point, Mississippi.
US 45 A southbound entering Clay County, Mississippi.
Clay County, Mississippi: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Clay County, Mississippi?
20.6% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in five people. Among children it was 31.3%.
Is Clay County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Clay County's poverty rate was 20.6% in 2024, 34th 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, Clay County ranks 23rd of 82 in the state.
What is the population of Clay County, Mississippi?
About 18,213 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 18,636, 85% of the county's peak of 21,979 in 2000.
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 Clay 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.
-
Mississippi Center for Legal Services
Legal aid
-
North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Legal aid
-
HUD-approved housing counselors
Counseling to avoid foreclosure is free. Our help directory lists 1,313 approved agencies by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
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 Clay County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.