About one in six people in Lee County, Mississippi, lives below the poverty line
In Lee County, 16.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 71% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lee County's score
In Lee County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 86.3. People with a credit card behind: 9.1%, August 2025, higher than in 91% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 82.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lee 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.
Lee County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with a disability (14.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.1% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.5% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score49.0% · second quarter of 202677th percentile
-
- 82.5 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector28.0% · August 202567th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people448.1 · 202597th percentile
-
- 62.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.2% · 202471st percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.1% · 202472nd percentile
- People with a disability14.0% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- People without health insurance10.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,826 · 202464th percentile
-
- 62.2 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 rent23.2% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.3% · fiscal year 202745th percentile
-
- 38.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.6% · 2020 to 202455th percentile
-
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 Lee 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 Lee County, 15.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lee County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lee County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 24.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Lee County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lee County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 10.5% in 2019 to 8.2% in 2020.
The share of households in Lee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 10.4%
Low on the chart: 8.2% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lee County, Mississippi.
How Lee County has changed
Lee County's population had its largest rise, from 64,842 in 1989 to 70,669 in 1994.
Lee County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 83,012
High on the chart: 83,843 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lee County, Mississippi.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lee County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 52,044, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 53,271 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lee County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.5% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.6% | 2024 16.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,577 | 2024 $61,826 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Lee County's history
1934
Tupelo became first city to receive Tennessee Valley Authority power. Wikipedia
1936
Major tornado devastated much of Tupelo. Wikipedia
1963
A tornado in April 1963 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1988
A tornado in November 1988 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A tornado in April 2014 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 83,343, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A tornado in April 2023 did $105 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1973
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lee County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lee County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Lee County, three score higher. Of the group, Lee County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Chickasaw County gets the largest, at 39.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe County, MS | 93 | 18.2% | 33.5% |
| Chickasaw County, MS | 93 | 23.1% | 39.9% |
| Prentiss County, MS | 79 | 20.3% | 34.1% |
| Lee County, MS | 77 | 16.2% | 24.3% |
| Pontotoc County, MS | 68 | 14.9% | 27.0% |
| Union County, MS | 68 | 14.0% | 28.7% |
| Itawamba County, MS | 60 | 18.7% | 31.4% |
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 Lee County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Lee County's poverty rate was 16.2% in 2024, 65th 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, Lee County ranks 64th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lee 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.
-
North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Legal aid
-
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.
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 Lee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.