Jefferson County, Mississippi

County Distress Index: Elevated · 62.4 | 6,941 people · 41st most distressed in Mississippi
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Jefferson County, MS registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 62.4 — 664th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within Mississippi, it ranks 41st of 82 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 4 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Jefferson County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 94.7 — worse than roughly 95% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 94.7
Poverty Rate 95
Income vs. State Median 94
Child Poverty Rate 95
Debt & Delinquency 86.2
Debt in Collections 95
Medical Debt 61
Student Loan Delinquency 91
Auto Loan Delinquency 95
Credit Card Delinquency 83
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 92
Employment & Wages 48.5
Unemployment Rate 95
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 35
Business Formation Rate 16
Community Vulnerability 47.6
Uninsured Rate 55
Disability Rate 40
Housing Cost Burden 35.0
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 24
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 32
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 7
Homeownership Rate 25
Rent-to-Income Ratio 88

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Jefferson County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Jefferson County
Jefferson County, MS 62.4 Elevated —
Tensas Parish, LA 68.8 Serious +6.4
Adams County, MS 68.0 Serious +5.7
Copiah County, MS 65.0 Serious +2.6
Claiborne County, MS 64.7 Elevated +2.3
Franklin County, MS 60.5 Elevated -1.9
Lincoln County, MS 55.0 Elevated -7.4

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Jefferson County
Wilkinson County, GA 62.4 Elevated +0.0
Shannon County, MO 62.3 Elevated -0.1
Jackson County, SD 62.3 Elevated -0.1
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK 62.5 Elevated +0.1
Echols County, GA 62.3 Elevated -0.1

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Jefferson County as a CSV file.

Find Help in Jefferson County

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Mississippi Bar Lawyer Referral offers a lawyer referral service for bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights.

Mississippi Bar Lawyer Referral 601-948-4471

Free Legal Aid

Legal aid organizations serving Jefferson County residents at no cost.

Mississippi Center for Legal Services 1-800-498-1804
North Mississippi Rural Legal Services 1-800-898-8731

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Jefferson County, Mississippi?

    Jefferson County has a County Distress Index score of 62.4 out of 100, placing it in the Elevated zone. It ranks 664th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 41st in Mississippi out of 82 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Jefferson County?

    The primary driver of distress in Jefferson County is Income & Poverty, where the county scores 94.7 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Poverty Rate, Income vs. State Median, Child Poverty Rate.

  • How does Jefferson County compare to neighboring counties?

    Jefferson County (62.4) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Tensas Parish, LA (68.8); Adams County, MS (68.0); Copiah County, MS (65.0).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Jefferson County?

    Jefferson County, Mississippi has a population of approximately 6,941 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a tiny county.