About half people with a credit file in Coahoma County, Mississippi, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Coahoma County, 48.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Coahoma County's score
In Coahoma County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 99.5. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 99.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Coahoma 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.
Coahoma 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.
- 99.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind13.8% · August 202599th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind25.8% · August 202599th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score66.1% · second quarter of 202699th percentile
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- 99.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector48.9% · August 202599th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people508 · 202598th percentile
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- 92.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202696th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.2% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
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- 85.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line34.9% · 202499th percentile
- Children below the poverty line46.9% · 202499th percentile
- People with a disability16.1% · 2020 to 202451st percentile
- People without health insurance12.0% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$37,206 · 202499th percentile
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- 76.0 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 rent19.2% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income29.2% · fiscal year 202795th 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 Coahoma 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 Coahoma County, 16.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Coahoma County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Coahoma County had its largest rise, from 13.5% in 1969 to 19.8% in 1974.
In Coahoma County, benefit checks and pay from work brought in equal shares in 2024
In Coahoma County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 41.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Coahoma County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 29.6% in 2011 to 33.7% in 2012.
The share of households in Coahoma County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 25.5% 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, Coahoma County, Mississippi.
How Coahoma County has changed
Coahoma County's population had its largest drop, from 35,350 in 1984 to 32,099 in 1989.
Coahoma County's population fell by about half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 20,105, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1994 to 1999, reaching 30,836. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Coahoma County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Coahoma County had its largest rise, from 9,777 in 1990 to 10,982 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Coahoma County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and is down 45% since
High on the chart: 10,982 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Coahoma County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.4% | 2025 6.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 47.6% | 2024 34.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,595 | 2024 $37,206 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Coahoma County's history
1875
Bill Peace alleged uprising 1875: false rumors triggered militia suppression, multiple people killed. Wikipedia
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 49,361. The 2020 Census counted 21,390, 43% of the peak. Census Bureau
1963
A tornado in April 1963 killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1978
A tornado in May 1978 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A tornado in December 2013 did $1 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A tornado in December 2015 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Coahoma County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Coahoma County beside its neighbors
Coahoma County scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Mississippi and Arkansas. For the share of income from benefit checks, Coahoma County ranks 3rd of the seven; Quitman County is highest, at 50.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips County, AR | 99 | 35.8% | 43.4% |
| Coahoma County, MS | 99 | 34.9% | 41.1% |
| Tunica County, MS | 99 | 25.0% | 33.1% |
| Bolivar County, MS | 99 | 30.0% | 37.0% |
| Quitman County, MS | 97 | 31.9% | 50.3% |
| Sunflower County, MS | 96 | 29.8% | 39.6% |
| Tallahatchie County, MS | 83 | 32.3% | 38.0% |
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 Coahoma County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Coahoma County's poverty rate was 34.9% in 2024, 2nd 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, Coahoma County ranks 4th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Coahoma 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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Southern Bancorp Community Partners
HUD-approved housing counselor
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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 Coahoma 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 Coahoma County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.