In Holmes County, Mississippi, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2008
In 2024, 54 cents of every dollar of income here came from a benefit check: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans' benefits and the like (54.4%, Bureau of Economic Analysis). Across the country it was 18 cents.
More distressed than every other U.S. county.
What drives Holmes County's score
In Holmes County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. About half of people with a credit file (48.6%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 95.0.
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.
Holmes County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Holmes 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.
- 95.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector48.6% · August 202595th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people399.3 · 202595th percentile
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- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind14.7% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a credit card behind14.7% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.3% · Q4 202595th percentile
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- 95.0 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working42.5% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average6.5% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202695th percentile
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- 90.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line46.8% · 202495th percentile
- People with a disability30.1% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$38,543 · 202495th percentile
- People below the poverty line34.3% · 202495th percentile
- People without health insurance10.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
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- 90.3 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 income28.2% · fiscal year 202793rd percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent25.0% · 2020 to 202486th 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 Holmes 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
Holmes County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Holmes County in 2024, pay from work was 35 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 10 cents. Benefit checks were 54 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
In 1969, pay was 67 cents of every dollar here and benefit checks were 20 cents.
In Holmes County, benefit checks have brought in more than pay since 2008
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Holmes County, Mississippi: 54.4% and 35.3% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 54.4% of all personal income in Holmes 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 Holmes County, 16.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How Holmes County has changed
The number of people living in Holmes County fell by about three in 10 between 1969 and 2024, from 23,602 to 15,560. The number of jobs located there fell by about three in 10 from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 13.2% in 1990 to 6.6% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 23,602 | 2024 15,560 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 4,247 | 2024 2,999 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 13.2% | 2025 6.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 57.1% | 2024 34.3% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $9,500 | 2024 $38,543 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 20.2% | 2024 54.4% |
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 Holmes County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 39,710. The 2020 Census counted 17,000, 43% of the peak. Census Bureau
1940
New Deal Farmers Home Administration provided low-interest loans; numerous African-Americans became landowners in the 1930s and 1940s. Wikipedia
1957
Tornado: two deaths. NOAA Storm Events Database
1960
Great Migration second wave: 6,000 black people left the county between 1950 and 1960. Wikipedia
2001
Tornado: one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
Tornado: $60 million in property damage, one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
Tornado: $3.5 million in property damage, one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Holmes County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Holmes County beside its neighbors
Holmes County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Holmes County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (54.4%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holmes County, MS | 100 | 34.3% | 54.4% |
| Leflore County, MS | 99 | 31.2% | 34.3% |
| Humphreys County, MS | 98 | 33.3% | 47.1% |
| Yazoo County, MS | 98 | 25.5% | 34.5% |
| Attala County, MS | 87 | 19.5% | 36.2% |
| Carroll County, MS | 70 | 15.8% | 33.1% |
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 Holmes County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Holmes County's poverty rate was 34.3% in 2024, 3rd 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, Holmes County ranks 1st of 82 in the state.
Holmes County in photographs
Places in Holmes County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
File name: 06_10_015001 Title: Holmes County Court House, with Confederate Monument, Lexington, Miss.
Photo: Boston Public Library via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
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Plantation manager's home at Good Hope, Holmes County, Mississippi.
Photo: Marion Post Wolcott via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Holmes County, Mississippi: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Holmes County, Mississippi?
34.3% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in three people. Among children it was 46.8%.
Is Holmes County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Holmes County's poverty rate was 34.3% in 2024, 3rd 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, Holmes County ranks 1st of 82 in the state.
What is the population of Holmes County, Mississippi?
About 15,560 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 17,000, 43% of the county's peak of 39,710 in 1940.
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 Holmes 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 Holmes 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 Holmes County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.