About one in three people with a credit file in DeSoto County, Mississippi, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In DeSoto County, 29.9% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector (Urban Institute, Debt in America, August 2025). That is higher than in 73% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 60% of U.S. counties.
What drives DeSoto County's score
In DeSoto County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 91.2. People with a credit card behind: 9.2%, August 2025, higher than in 91% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 85.7.
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.
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).
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where DeSoto 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.
- 91.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.7% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a credit card behind9.2% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.3% · Q4 202590th percentile
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- 85.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit 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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- 54.2 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 income18.3% · fiscal year 202724th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent24.1% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 27.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line13.4% · 202429th percentile
- People with a disability12.6% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$85,117 · 202414th percentile
- People below the poverty line9.6% · 202419th percentile
- People without health insurance8.3% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
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- 27.3 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.8% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average3.5% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202628th percentile
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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 DeSoto 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
DeSoto County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In DeSoto County in 2024, pay from work was 69 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 15 cents. Benefit checks were 17 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 6 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In DeSoto County, benefit checks rose from 6 to 17 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, DeSoto County, Mississippi: 16.6% and 68.6% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 16.6% of all personal income in DeSoto 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 DeSoto County, 13.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How DeSoto County has changed
The number of people living in DeSoto County more than doubled between 1969 and 2024, from 34,634 to 195,871. The number of jobs located there more than doubled from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 5.3% in 1990 to 3.6% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 34,634 | 2024 195,871 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 19,901 | 2024 72,666 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.3% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.0% | 2024 9.6% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $30,668 | 2024 $85,117 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 6.2% | 2024 16.6% |
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 DeSoto County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 185,314, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
1836
Founded: February 9, 1836. Wikipedia
1973
Tornado: one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
Flash flood: one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
Thunderstorm wind: one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
Tornado: $28.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
16 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered DeSoto County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
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 | 96 | 19.0% | 19.5% |
| Tate County, MS | 81 | 15.0% | 27.9% |
| DeSoto County, MS | 60 | 9.6% | 16.6% |
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 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 77th of 82 in the state.
DeSoto County in photographs
Places in DeSoto County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
Courthouse in Hernando, Mississippi.
Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
View northwest across Desoto County, Mississippi towards Memphis, Tennessee from an airplane traveling from Washington Dulles International Airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
DeSoto County, Mississippi: common questions
What is the poverty rate in DeSoto County, Mississippi?
9.6% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in 10 people. Among children it was 13.4%.
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 77th of 82 in the state.
What is the population of DeSoto County, Mississippi?
About 195,871 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 185,314, the most of any census.
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 DeSoto 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.
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Mississippi Center for Legal Services
Legal aid
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North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Counseling to avoid foreclosure is free. Our help directory lists 1,311 approved agencies 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 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 DeSoto County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.