About one in four people in Marshall County, Mississippi, has a disability
In Marshall County, 23.6% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 93% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Marshall County's score
In Marshall County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 93.1. People with a car or retail loan behind: 12.3%, August 2025, higher than in 97% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 86.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Marshall 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.
Marshall 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.
- 93.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.4% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.3% · August 202597th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.0% · second quarter of 202686th percentile
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- 86.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.4% · 202488th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.0% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability23.6% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- People without health insurance11.8% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,244 · 202484th percentile
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- 84.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.0% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people480.6 · 202598th percentile
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- 84.2 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 rent25.3% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.5% · fiscal year 202780th percentile
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- 67.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202659th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.2% · 2020 to 202475th 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 Marshall 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 Marshall County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Marshall County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Marshall County had its largest rise, from 23.0% in 2004 to 29.4% in 2009.
In Marshall County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 31.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Marshall County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Marshall County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 14.2% in 2018 to 11.6% in 2019.
The share of households in Marshall County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 13.9%, with its low point on the chart in 2022
Low on the chart: 10.0% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Marshall County, Mississippi.
How Marshall County has changed
Marshall County's population rose most sharply from its first year (24,170 in 1969) to 28,342 in 1974.
Marshall County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 37,231 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Marshall County, Mississippi.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Marshall County doubled to 11,694, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 11,694. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Marshall County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.3% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 28.7% | 2024 20.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,078 | 2024 $54,244 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.3% 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 Marshall County's history
1920
Boll weevil invasion 1920s-1930s destroyed cotton crops causing economic distress. Wikipedia
1920
Many African Americans left in Great Migration to escape southern oppression and seek northern employment. Wikipedia
1952
A tornado in March 1952 killed nine people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 37,144. The 2020 Census counted 33,752, 91% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A flash flood in April 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A tornado in December 2015 did $5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A tornado in April 2025 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Marshall County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Marshall County beside its neighbors
Marshall County scores higher than all seven counties that border it, in Mississippi and Tennessee. For the share of income from benefit checks, Marshall County ranks 2nd of the eight; Benton County is highest, at 35.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall County, MS | 97 | 20.4% | 31.2% |
| Shelby County, TN | 95 | 19.0% | 19.5% |
| Benton County, MS | 86 | 19.9% | 35.7% |
| Tate County, MS | 80 | 15.0% | 27.9% |
| Union County, MS | 68 | 14.0% | 28.7% |
| DeSoto County, MS | 59 | 9.6% | 16.6% |
| Lafayette County, MS | 53 | 17.9% | 19.0% |
| Fayette County, TN | 43 | 9.3% | 17.6% |
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 Marshall County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Marshall County's poverty rate was 20.4% in 2024, 36th 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, Marshall County ranks 17th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Marshall 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 Marshall 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 Marshall County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.