About three in five people in Issaquena County, Mississippi, live below the poverty line
In Issaquena County, 55.7% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 84% of U.S. counties.
What drives Issaquena County's score
In Issaquena County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 92.1. Jobs come next, at 87.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Issaquena 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.
Issaquena County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (2.5%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (79.6, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 92.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line55.7% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line73.2% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability33.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance12.4% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$38,770 · 2024top 5%
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- 87.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year8.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026top 5%
- Adults 25 to 54 not workingnot published for this county; scored at the state median · 2020 to 202480th percentile
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- 71.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.0% · second quarter of 202629th percentile
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- 51.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collectornot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202577th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people79.6 · 202525th percentile
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- 49.2 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 rent2.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.0% · fiscal year 202793rd 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 Issaquena 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 Issaquena County, 24.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Issaquena County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Issaquena County had its largest rise, from 18.0% in 2004 to 26.9% in 2009.
In Issaquena County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 31.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Issaquena County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.9%; 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 Issaquena County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen to 24.0%
Biggest drop: 2023 to 2024, reaching 24.0%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Issaquena County, Mississippi.
How Issaquena County has changed
Issaquena County's population fell by about half to 1,295, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1999 to 2004, reaching 1,813. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Issaquena County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Issaquena County had its largest drop, from 296 in 2010 to 198 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Issaquena County was at its highest on the chart in 2010 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 296 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Issaquena County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 12.0% | 2025 9.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 45.4% | 2024 55.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,780 | 2024 $38,770 |
The table uses 9.3% for 2025; the score uses 8.4% 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 Issaquena County's history
1844
Established January 23, 1844, from the southern portion of Washington County. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 10,560. The 2020 Census counted 1,338, 13% of the peak. Census Bureau
1953
A tornado in December 1953 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1995
A thunderstorm in January 1995 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in May 2011 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Issaquena County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Issaquena County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Issaquena County, in Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Issaquena County ranks 6th of the seven; East Carroll Parish is highest, at 45.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Carroll Parish, LA | 99 | 44.4% | 45.3% |
| Washington County, MS | 99 | 29.4% | 36.1% |
| Yazoo County, MS | 98 | 25.5% | 34.5% |
| Chicot County, AR | 97 | 27.9% | 41.3% |
| Sharkey County, MS | 96 | 32.6% | 44.7% |
| Warren County, MS | 88 | 18.8% | 28.2% |
| Issaquena County, MS | 84 | 55.7% | 31.9% |
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 Issaquena County the poorest county in Mississippi?
Yes, Issaquena County's poverty rate was 55.7% in 2024, the highest of 82 counties in Mississippi (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Issaquena County ranks 54th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Issaquena 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 Issaquena 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 Issaquena County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.