About one in two people with a credit file in Leflore County, Mississippi, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Leflore County, 46.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Leflore County's score
In Leflore County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 99.3. People with a credit card behind: 14.8%, August 2025, higher than in 99% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 93.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Leflore 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.
Leflore 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.
- 99.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind14.8% · August 202599th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind14.6% · August 202598th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score66.2% · second quarter of 202699th percentile
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- 93.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202692nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.5% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
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- 92.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector46.6% · August 202598th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people257.8 · 202586th percentile
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- 92.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line31.2% · 202498th percentile
- Children below the poverty line44.2% · 202499th percentile
- People with a disability20.2% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance13.0% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$39,033 · 202499th percentile
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- 77.4 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 rent20.1% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.8% · fiscal year 202792nd 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 Leflore 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 Leflore County, 15.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Leflore County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Leflore County had its largest rise, from 28.0% in 2004 to 34.0% in 2009.
In Leflore County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 34.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Leflore County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Leflore County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 23.1% in 2022 to 27.5% in 2023.
The share of households in Leflore County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2020, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 19.2% 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, Leflore County, Mississippi.
How Leflore County has changed
Leflore County's population fell 39% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 37,714. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Leflore County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Leflore County had its largest drop in the last span, from 14,012 in 2020 to 12,090 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Leflore County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 15,759 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Leflore County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.2% | 2025 6.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 38.6% | 2024 31.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $15,770 | 2024 $39,033 |
The table uses 6.2% for 2025; the score uses 5.9% 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 Leflore County's history
1871
1871, formed during Reconstruction from portions of Carroll, Sunflower and Tallahatchie counties. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 53,506. The 2020 Census counted 28,339, 53% of the peak. Census Bureau
1971
A tornado in February 1971 killed 14 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $25 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in December 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A thunderstorm in June 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Leflore County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Leflore County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Leflore County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Leflore County ranks 6th of the seven; Holmes County is highest, at 54.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holmes County, MS | 100 | 34.3% | 54.4% |
| Leflore County, MS | 99 | 31.2% | 34.3% |
| Humphreys County, MS | 98 | 33.3% | 47.1% |
| Sunflower County, MS | 96 | 29.8% | 39.6% |
| Grenada County, MS | 92 | 19.4% | 37.4% |
| Tallahatchie County, MS | 83 | 32.3% | 38.0% |
| Carroll County, MS | 69 | 15.8% | 33.1% |
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 Leflore County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Leflore County's poverty rate was 31.2% in 2024, 10th 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, Leflore County ranks 3rd of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Leflore 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 Leflore 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 Leflore County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.