About three in ten people with a credit file in DeSoto County, Mississippi, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In DeSoto County, 29.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 73% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives DeSoto County's score
In DeSoto County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 85.7. Bankruptcy filings ran at 474 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 97% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 85.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in DeSoto 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.
DeSoto County does better than most counties on two measures: median household income ($85,117, 2024) and people below the poverty line (9.6%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.9% · August 202573rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people474 · 202597th percentile
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- 85.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.2% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.7% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.8% · second quarter of 202671st percentile
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- 54.2 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 rent24.1% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.3% · fiscal year 202724th percentile
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- 27.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.6% · 202419th percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.4% · 202429th percentile
- People with a disability12.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- People without health insurance8.3% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$85,117 · 202414th percentile
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- 27.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202628th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.8% · 2020 to 202425th 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 DeSoto 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 DeSoto County, 13.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
DeSoto County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In DeSoto County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 16.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In DeSoto County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 16.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in DeSoto County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (5.6% in 2009) to 6.8% in 2010.
The share of households in DeSoto County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 5.6% 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, DeSoto County, Mississippi.
How DeSoto County has changed
DeSoto County's population had its largest rise, from 130,767 in 2004 to 159,706 in 2009.
DeSoto County's population grew to about six times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 195,871, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 55,565. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, DeSoto County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in DeSoto County had its largest rise, from 54,053 in 2015 to 63,933 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in DeSoto County grew to about four times its 1990 size in 2025, reaching 73,213, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 44,427. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, DeSoto County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.0% | 2024 9.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,668 | 2024 $85,117 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 DeSoto County's history
1836
Founded: February 9, 1836. Wikipedia
1973
A tornado in November 1973 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A flash flood in October 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A thunderstorm in July 2004 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A tornado in February 2008 did $28.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 185,314, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered DeSoto County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
DeSoto County beside its neighbors
All five counties that border DeSoto County, in Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee, score higher than it does. Of the group, DeSoto County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Tunica County gets the largest, at 33.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crittenden County, AR | 99 | 22.5% | 31.3% |
| Tunica County, MS | 99 | 25.0% | 33.1% |
| Marshall County, MS | 97 | 20.4% | 31.2% |
| Shelby County, TN | 95 | 19.0% | 19.5% |
| Tate County, MS | 80 | 15.0% | 27.9% |
| DeSoto County, MS | 59 | 9.6% | 16.6% |
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 DeSoto County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, DeSoto County's poverty rate was 9.6% in 2024, 81st 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, DeSoto County ranks 78th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in DeSoto 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 DeSoto 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 DeSoto County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.