Kemper County, Mississippi

County Distress Index: Serious · 69.5 | 8,584 people · 17th most distressed in Mississippi
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Kemper County, MS shows significant household financial distress with a score of 69.5 — 236th 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 17th of 82 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 5 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Kemper County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 90.4 — worse than roughly 90% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 90.4
Poverty Rate 95
Income vs. State Median 81
Child Poverty Rate 95
Community Vulnerability 90.3
Uninsured Rate 87
Disability Rate 94
Debt & Delinquency 84.2
Debt in Collections 73
Medical Debt 64
Student Loan Delinquency 91
Auto Loan Delinquency 93
Credit Card Delinquency 91
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 92
Employment & Wages 41.5
Unemployment Rate 64
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 36
Business Formation Rate 25
Housing Cost Burden 41.0
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 10
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 19
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 72
Homeownership Rate 32
Rent-to-Income Ratio 72

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

Neighbors and Peers

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

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Kemper County
Kemper County, MS 69.5 Serious —
Noxubee County, MS 76.5 Serious +7.0
Sumter County, AL 67.8 Serious -1.7
Winston County, MS 65.2 Serious -4.3
Lauderdale County, MS 65.0 Serious -4.5
Neshoba County, MS 61.4 Elevated -8.1
Newton County, MS 59.2 Elevated -10.3

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Kemper County
Treutlen County, GA 69.6 Serious +0.1
Menominee County, WI 69.4 Serious -0.1
Menard County, TX 69.6 Serious +0.1
Marion County, GA 69.7 Serious +0.2
Wolfe County, KY 69.1 Serious -0.4

Download Data

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

Find Help in Kemper 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 Kemper 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 Kemper County, Mississippi?

    Kemper County has a County Distress Index score of 69.5 out of 100, placing it in the Serious zone. It ranks 236th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 17th in Mississippi out of 82 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Kemper County?

    The primary driver of distress in Kemper County is Income & Poverty, where the county scores 90.4 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Poverty Rate, Income vs. State Median, Child Poverty Rate.

  • How does Kemper County compare to neighboring counties?

    Kemper County (69.5) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Noxubee County, MS (76.5); Sumter County, AL (67.8); Winston County, MS (65.2).

  • 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 Kemper County?

    Kemper County, Mississippi has a population of approximately 8,584 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a tiny county.