About one in four adults aged 25 to 54 in Lincoln County, Mississippi, is not working
In Lincoln County, 27.5% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 82% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lincoln County's score
In Lincoln County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 88.7. People with a credit card behind: 9.2%, August 2025, higher than in 91% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 84.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lincoln 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.
Lincoln County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.7%, fiscal year 2027) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.8%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 88.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.2% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.9% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.2% · second quarter of 202682nd percentile
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- 84.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.6% · August 202572nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people374.6 · 202595th percentile
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- 71.7 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 line22.0% · 202472nd percentile
- People with a disability16.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- People without health insurance12.4% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,959 · 202475th percentile
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- 62.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202642nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.5% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 56.7 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 rent24.4% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.7% · fiscal year 202728th 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, 17.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lincoln County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lincoln County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 29.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Lincoln County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Lincoln County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 11.8%, with most of the change between 2018 and 2019
High on the chart: 14.9% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lincoln County, Mississippi.
How Lincoln County has changed
Lincoln County's population had its largest rise, from 27,905 in 1974 to 29,788 in 1979.
Lincoln County's population rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34,956
High on the chart: 35,119 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lincoln County, Mississippi.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lincoln County rose by about a quarter to 12,550, the highest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2005 to 2010, reaching 10,803. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lincoln County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.6% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.1% | 2024 16.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,039 | 2024 $57,959 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Lincoln County's history
1870
Founded April 7, 1870, formed from portions of Lawrence, Pike, Franklin, Copiah, and Amite counties. Wikipedia
1975
A tornado in January 1975 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1986
A tornado in April 1986 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in April 2003 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A flash flood in February 2004 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 34,907, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lincoln County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lincoln County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Lincoln County score higher than it does. Of the group, Lincoln County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Jefferson County gets the largest, at 42.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pike County, MS | 98 | 21.4% | 39.1% |
| Jefferson County, MS | 97 | 30.5% | 42.7% |
| Copiah County, MS | 96 | 19.5% | 35.8% |
| Walthall County, MS | 91 | 22.3% | 39.2% |
| Amite County, MS | 91 | 22.0% | 34.6% |
| Franklin County, MS | 90 | 18.8% | 38.1% |
| Lawrence County, MS | 88 | 19.9% | 39.0% |
| Lincoln County, MS | 87 | 16.2% | 29.0% |
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 Lincoln County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Lincoln 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, Lincoln County ranks 44th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lincoln 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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Mississippi Center for 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.