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. 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 92.8. 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 looks at five parts of household money trouble in Grenada 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.
Grenada County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.7% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.8% · August 202596th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.0% · second quarter of 202692nd 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
- People below the poverty line19.4% · 202485th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.9% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability20.8% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance10.6% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,210 · 202491st percentile
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- 60.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202650th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.3% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
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- 56.5 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 rent16.6% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.1% · fiscal year 202772nd 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 Grenada 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 Grenada County, 18.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Grenada County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Grenada County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 37.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Grenada County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 37.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Grenada County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 9.3% in 2023 to 11.7% in 2024.
The share of households in Grenada County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 11.7%, with its low point on the chart in 2023
Low on the chart: 9.3% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Grenada County, Mississippi.
How Grenada County has changed
Grenada County's population had its largest drop, from 23,318 in 1999 to 22,222 in 2004.
Grenada County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 23,318 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Grenada County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Grenada County fell most sharply on the way to its 2010 low, from 10,837 in 2005 to 9,390 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Grenada County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 12% since
High on the chart: 11,042 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Grenada County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.5% | 2025 4.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.2% | 2024 19.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,420 | 2024 $50,210 |
The table uses 4.2% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Grenada County's history
1971
A tornado in February 1971 killed seven people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
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
2003
A flash flood in April 2003 did $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
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% |
| Tallahatchie County, MS | 83 | 32.3% | 38.0% |
| Calhoun County, MS | 83 | 18.6% | 39.8% |
| Carroll County, MS | 69 | 15.8% | 33.1% |
| Webster County, MS | 65 | 15.3% | 36.5% |
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 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.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Grenada 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 Grenada 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 Grenada County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.