About one in six people in Lowndes County, Mississippi, lives below the poverty line
In Lowndes County, 17.5% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 77% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lowndes County's score
In Lowndes County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 85.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 476.6 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 98% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 85.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lowndes 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.
Lowndes County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (13.2%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.9%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people476.6 · 202598th percentile
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- 85.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.2% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.9% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.4% · second quarter of 202687th percentile
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- 67.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.5% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.1% · 202484th percentile
- People with a disability13.2% · 2020 to 202423rd percentile
- People without health insurance10.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,293 · 202479th percentile
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- 54.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202647th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.7% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
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- 49.7 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 rent19.6% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202740th 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 Lowndes 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 Lowndes County, 17.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Lowndes County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lowndes County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 27.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Lowndes County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 27.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lowndes County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 18.5% in 2018 to 15.6% in 2019.
The share of households in Lowndes County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 13.1%
Low on the chart: 13.0% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lowndes County, Mississippi.
How Lowndes County has changed
Lowndes County's population had its largest rise, from 49,584 in 1969 to 55,505 in 1974.
Lowndes County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2019, reaching 59,053, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 61,631 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lowndes County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Lowndes County had its largest rise in the last span, from 23,897 in 2020 to 26,162 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Lowndes County fell 5% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2010
Low on the chart: 23,639 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lowndes County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.5% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.4% | 2024 17.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,940 | 2024 $56,293 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Lowndes County's history
1830
Founded 1830. Wikipedia
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 61,586. The 2020 Census counted 58,879, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2000
A thunderstorm in July 2000 did $1.2 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
A tornado in November 2002 did $60 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A thunderstorm in March 2006 did $15 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in February 2019 did $2 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lowndes County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lowndes County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Lowndes County, in Mississippi and Alabama, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lowndes County ranks 6th of the seven; Noxubee County is highest, at 38.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noxubee County, MS | 99 | 27.4% | 38.8% |
| Clay County, MS | 95 | 20.6% | 31.0% |
| Monroe County, MS | 93 | 18.2% | 33.5% |
| Pickens County, AL | 92 | 22.0% | 36.2% |
| Oktibbeha County, MS | 82 | 19.4% | 23.5% |
| Lowndes County, MS | 81 | 17.5% | 27.0% |
| Lamar County, AL | 76 | 18.1% | 38.4% |
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 Lowndes County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Lowndes County's poverty rate was 17.5% in 2024, 61st 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, Lowndes County ranks 59th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lowndes 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 Lowndes 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 Lowndes County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.