About one in four people in Jasper County, Mississippi, has a disability
In Jasper County, 23.1% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 94% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jasper County's score
In Jasper County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 94.5. People with a car or retail loan behind: 15.1%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 87.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jasper 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.
Jasper County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.5% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind15.1% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score59.4% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 87.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.3% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people312.2 · 202592nd percentile
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- 83.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.6% · 202486th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.1% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability23.1% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- People without health insurance8.5% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,500 · 202492nd percentile
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- 70.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202652nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.9% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
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- 64.1 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 rent20.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.9% · fiscal year 202762nd 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 Jasper 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 Jasper County, 21.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jasper County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jasper County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 34.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Jasper County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Jasper County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 20.1% in 2009 to 15.8% in 2010.
The share of households in Jasper County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 15.9%
Low on the chart: 12.8% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Jasper County, Mississippi.
How Jasper County has changed
Jasper County's population had its largest rise, from 17,282 in 1994 to 18,185 in 1999.
Jasper County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 18,185 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jasper County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Jasper County rose most sharply from its first year (3,421 in 1990) to 4,445 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Jasper County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 4,541 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jasper County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.2% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.0% | 2024 19.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,865 | 2024 $49,500 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Jasper County's history
1833
Formed in 1833 from the middle section of what was previously a much larger Jones County. Wikipedia
1880
Sawmill built at Bay Springs 1880. Wikipedia
1900
Railroad route shifted west from Paulding to Bay Springs due to local lack of investment, stimulating Bay Springs growth around 1900. Wikipedia
1936
WPA project built first east-west road 1935-1936. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 19,484. The 2020 Census counted 16,367, 84% of the peak. Census Bureau
1992
A tornado in November 1992 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in April 2011 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A tornado in June 2023 did $5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A tornado in April 2025 did $2 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jasper County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jasper County beside its neighbors
Jasper County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Jasper County ranks 2nd of the six; Clarke County is highest, at 36.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jasper County, MS | 94 | 19.6% | 34.5% |
| Clarke County, MS | 92 | 19.6% | 36.8% |
| Newton County, MS | 92 | 21.6% | 33.7% |
| Wayne County, MS | 91 | 21.3% | 32.1% |
| Jones County, MS | 79 | 19.2% | 32.3% |
| Smith County, MS | 70 | 16.7% | 29.8% |
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 Jasper County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Jasper County's poverty rate was 19.6% in 2024, 44th 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, Jasper County ranks 24th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jasper 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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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 Jasper 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 Jasper County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.