About one in five people in Hancock County, Mississippi, has a disability
In Hancock County, 20.4% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 82% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 69% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hancock County's score
In Hancock County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 72.1. About one in five renters (22.4%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a higher share than in 74% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 70.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hancock 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.
Hancock County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.1 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent22.4% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.8% · fiscal year 202769th percentile
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- 70.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.8% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.4% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.5% · second quarter of 202673rd percentile
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- 69.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.5% · 202473rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.1% · 202468th percentile
- People with a disability20.4% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- People without health insurance9.3% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,485 · 202462nd percentile
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- 61.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.5% · August 202555th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people175.5 · 202568th percentile
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- 32.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202613th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.9% · 2020 to 202450th 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 Hancock 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 Hancock County, 22.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hancock County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hancock County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 28.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Hancock County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 28.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Hancock County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 12.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hancock County, Mississippi.
How Hancock County has changed
Hancock County's population had its largest rise, from 36,783 in 1994 to 42,062 in 1999.
Hancock County's population tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 46,492
High on the chart: 46,717 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hancock County, Mississippi.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Hancock County rose 40% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 13,176. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hancock County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.2% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.0% | 2024 16.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,522 | 2024 $62,485 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Hancock County's history
1980
A tornado in May 1980 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
Lightning in August 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2005
Hurricane Katrina made final landfall in 2005, over entire 7-mile beach front not one building or home was left intact. Wikipedia
2005
Lightning in August 2005 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 46,053, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hancock County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hancock County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Hancock County, in Mississippi and Louisiana, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hancock County ranks 2nd of the four; Pearl River County is highest, at 30.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison County, MS | 84 | 15.9% | 27.9% |
| Pearl River County, MS | 76 | 16.5% | 30.2% |
| Hancock County, MS | 69 | 16.5% | 28.2% |
| St. Tammany Parish, LA | 50 | 10.2% | 17.2% |
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 Hancock County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Hancock County's poverty rate was 16.5% in 2024, 63rd 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, Hancock County ranks 72nd of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hancock 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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Hancock Housing Resource Center
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Mississippi Center for 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 Hancock 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 Hancock County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.