Benefit checks make up 37 cents of every dollar of income in Grenada County, Mississippi
In Grenada County, 37.4% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks (Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024). That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Grenada County's score
In Grenada County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 93.5. People with a car or retail loan behind: 11.8%, August 2025, higher than in 96% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 91.7.
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.
Grenada County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.6%, 2020 to 2024).
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Grenada 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.
- 93.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.8% · August 202596th percentile
- People with a credit card behind8.7% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.3% · Q4 202594th percentile
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- 91.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.5% · August 202584th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people512.7 · 202598th percentile
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- 83.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line27.9% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability20.8% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,210 · 202491st percentile
- People below the poverty line19.4% · 202485th percentile
- People without health insurance10.6% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
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- 60.3 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.3% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average4.0% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202650th percentile
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- 56.5 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 income23.1% · fiscal year 202772nd percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent16.6% · 2020 to 202440th 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 Grenada 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
Grenada County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Grenada County in 2024, pay from work was 48 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 15 cents. Benefit checks were 37 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 10 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Grenada County, benefit checks rose from 10 to 37 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Grenada County, Mississippi: 37.4% and 47.8% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 37.4% of all personal income in Grenada 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 Grenada County, 18.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How Grenada County has changed
The number of people living in Grenada County stayed about the same between 1969 and 2024, from 19,807 to 20,931. The number of jobs located there stayed about the same from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 10.5% in 1990 to 4.2% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 19,807 | 2024 20,931 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 9,608 | 2024 9,340 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.5% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.2% | 2024 19.4% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $20,420 | 2024 $50,210 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 10.3% | 2024 37.4% |
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 Grenada County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 23,263. The 2020 Census counted 21,629, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
1971
Tornado: seven deaths. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
Flash flood: $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Grenada County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Grenada County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Grenada County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Grenada County ranks 5th of the eight; Montgomery County is highest, at 43.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leflore County, MS | 99 | 31.2% | 34.3% |
| Montgomery County, MS | 97 | 22.8% | 43.8% |
| Grenada County, MS | 92 | 19.4% | 37.4% |
| Yalobusha County, MS | 88 | 18.7% | 43.7% |
| Calhoun County, MS | 83 | 18.6% | 39.8% |
| Tallahatchie County, MS | 83 | 32.3% | 38.0% |
| Carroll County, MS | 70 | 15.8% | 33.1% |
| 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 Grenada County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Grenada County's poverty rate was 19.4% in 2024, 48th 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, Grenada County ranks 32nd of 82 in the state.
Grenada County in photographs
Places in Grenada County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
Pulling into Grenada Station.
Abandoned Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Depot in Grenada County, Mississippi.
Grenada County, Mississippi: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Grenada County, Mississippi?
19.4% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in five people. Among children it was 27.9%.
Is Grenada County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Grenada County's poverty rate was 19.4% in 2024, 48th 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, Grenada County ranks 32nd of 82 in the state.
What is the population of Grenada County, Mississippi?
About 20,931 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 21,629, 93% of the county's peak of 23,263 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 Grenada 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 Grenada 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 Grenada County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.