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 (Urban Institute, Debt in America, August 2025). 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 99.4. 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 combines five things we measure for every county: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each gets a score from 0 to 100; the higher the score, the worse off the county is compared with others.
Leflore County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Leflore County ranks among all 3,144 U.S. counties on that measure, as a percentile: the share of counties it is higher than. A longer bar means more trouble.
- 99.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind14.6% · August 202598th percentile
- People with a credit card behind14.8% · August 202599th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.0% · Q4 202599th percentile
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- 93.5 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.5% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average5.9% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202692nd 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
- Children below the poverty line44.2% · 202499th percentile
- People with a disability20.2% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$39,033 · 202499th percentile
- People below the poverty line31.2% · 202498th percentile
- People without health insurance13.0% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 77.4 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income27.8% · fiscal year 202792nd percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent20.1% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
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Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
Where the money in Leflore County comes from
The Bureau of Economic Analysis adds up all the income that reaches the people of a county and splits it three ways: pay from work, income from investments and rent, and benefit checks.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Leflore County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Leflore County in 2024, pay from work was 46 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 20 cents. Benefit checks were 34 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 11 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Leflore County, benefit checks rose from 11 to 34 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Leflore County, Mississippi: 34.3% and 46.1% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 34.3% of all personal income in Leflore County, Mississippi (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC4).
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.
How Leflore County has changed
The number of people living in Leflore County fell by about four in 10 between 1969 and 2024, from 42,765 to 26,157. The number of jobs located there fell by about one in 10 from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 10.2% in 1990 to 6.2% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 42,765 | 2024 26,157 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 14,254 | 2024 12,566 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.2% | 2025 6.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 38.6% | 2024 31.2% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $15,770 | 2024 $39,033 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 10.8% | 2024 34.3% |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices. We don't chart the distress score over time because it compares counties at one moment.
Dated events in Leflore County's history
Largest decennial census count
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
1871
1871, formed during Reconstruction from portions of Carroll, Sunflower and Tallahatchie counties. Wikipedia
1971
Tornado: 14 deaths. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
Tornado: $25 million in property damage, two deaths. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
Tornado: $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
Thunderstorm wind: one death. 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
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
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 | 70 | 15.8% | 33.1% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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.
Leflore County in photographs
Places in Leflore County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
LEFLORE COUNTY COURTHOUSE BUILT IN 1906 IN SECOND RENAISSANCE REVIVAL WITH 2 STORY CENTRAL CLOCK TOWER.
Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Columbus and Greenville Railway bridge over Yazoo River, Leflore County, Mississippi.
Leflore County, Mississippi: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Leflore County, Mississippi?
31.2% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in three people. Among children it was 44.2%.
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.
What is the population of Leflore County, Mississippi?
About 26,157 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 28,339, half the county's peak of 53,506 in 1930.
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
We rank every U.S. county on 14 federal measures of money trouble, grouped into five equally weighted parts, and average them. The published score is the share of the other 3,143 counties with a lower average. The methodology lists every measure and its source.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Leflore County
A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved housing counselor works at a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The counseling to avoid foreclosure is free, and a counselor can help you talk to your mortgage company and understand what it offers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection BureauSourceCFPB.
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Mississippi Center for Legal Services
Legal aid
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North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Counseling to avoid foreclosure is free. Our help directory lists 1,313 approved agencies 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 Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- 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.