Lowndes County, Mississippi
4× the national median for bankruptcy filing rate — and 65.3× the rate of the healthiest U.S. county (Glacier County, MT — 7).
Main Findings
Lowndes County, Mississippi ranks 586th most distressed in the United States on the County Distress Index. The driver: a bankruptcy filing rate of 477 — more than double the national median of 126. Its highest-scoring domain is Default & Legal.
- 586th of 3,144 counties on the County Distress Index — 68.5 · moderate-high county distress, 49th in Mississippi.
- A bankruptcy filing rate of 477 (U.S. median 126). Bankruptcy filing rate at the 98th percentile nationally. Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025).
- Subprime credit share at 35% — national median 23%, ranked at the 89th percentile. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Equifax (2025).
- Poverty rate at 20% — national median 14%, ranked at the 85th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023).
- Unemployment at 4% — national median 4%, ranked at the 57th percentile. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026).
Neighbors span three CDI score labels. The 30-point drop to Lamar County, AL marks a cross-border distress gradient.
"Lowndes County has a moderate-high county distress score. The domain mix shows whether pressure is concentrated or spread across the profile."
"The CDI gives this county a moderate-high county distress label. The domain table shows whether the score comes from debt, labor, safety-net pressure, or a mix. Its highest-scoring domain is Default & Legal."
Reporter's Notes
Two data points in the indicator table worth a follow-up call.
According to U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023), Lowndes County's disability rate indicator is at the 20th percentile. American Default Research's CDI places every other indicator in the Safety Net & Buffer domain at or above the 70th percentile. The gap stands out against poverty rate. Worth a call to the source agency or a local subject-matter contact in Columbus.
Indicator History
Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.
Unemployment rate
Poverty rate
Transfer income share
Subprime credit population
The Indicators Behind Lowndes County's CDI Score
Every number traces to a public source. Lowndes County's value shown alongside MS's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.
| Indicator | Lowndes | MS median | U.S. median | Pctile | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delinquency — domain score 86 · Rank 352 of 3,144 | |||||
| Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due | 8% | 10% | 5% | 83rd | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due | 8% | 9% | 5% | 86th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 | 35% | 38% | 23% | 89th | Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Equifax (2025) |
| Default & Legal — domain score 86 · Rank 246 of 3,144 | |||||
| Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections | 30% | 31% | 23% | 74th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents | 477 | 314 | 126 | 98th | Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025) |
| Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 46 · Rank 1,711 of 3,144 | |||||
| Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income | 19% | 22% | 21% | 33rd | HUD FMR (FY2026); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023) |
| Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent | 20% | 19% | 18% | 60th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023) |
| Labor — domain score 57 · Rank 1,301 of 3,144 | |||||
| Unemployment Share of labor force unemployed | 4% | 4% | 4% | 57th | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026) |
| Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 67 · Rank 898 of 3,144 | |||||
| Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line | 27% | 28% | 18% | 84th | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023) |
| Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability | 12% | 19% | 16% | 20th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023) |
| Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line | 20% | 20% | 14% | 85th | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023) |
| Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage | 11% | 12% | 8% | 70th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023) |
Five-Domain Breakdown
The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.
Methodology
The County Distress Index is a 0–100 composite score of household financial distress, computed for all 3,144 U.S. counties. Higher scores indicate greater distress. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the CDI score is the equal-weight mean of those domain scores.
Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), FRED/Equifax (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), U.S. Courts Administrative Office (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and HUD Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2022 to 2026 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.
For Press & Research
Everything you need to cite Lowndes County data — in under 60 seconds.
Draft wire copy 146-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
COLUMBUS, Miss. — Lowndes County ranks 586th among the nation's most financially distressed counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.
The composite score of 68.5 out of 100 gives Lowndes a moderate-high county distress label. Among 3,144 U.S. counties scored, 585 counties rank more distressed. Within Mississippi, Lowndes ranks 49th of 82 counties.
The index, which draws on 13 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, identifies default & legal as the primary driver in Lowndes. A bankruptcy filing rate of 477 — more than double the national median of 126.
"Lowndes County has a moderate-high county distress score. The domain mix shows whether pressure is concentrated or spread across the profile," said Ross Kilburn, founder of American Default Research.
Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Lowndes County's CDI score, and what does it mean?
What drives Lowndes County's distress score?
How does Lowndes County compare to its neighbors?
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
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