About one in six people in Monroe County, Mississippi, lives below the poverty line
In Monroe County, 18.2% of people lived below the poverty line (Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024). That is higher than in 80% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Monroe County's score
In Monroe County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.9. People with a car or retail loan behind: 11.7%, August 2025, higher than in 96% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 86.8.
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.
Monroe 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 Monroe 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.
- 90.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.7% · August 202596th percentile
- People with a credit card behind8.2% · August 202586th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score36.2% · Q4 202590th percentile
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- 86.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.9% · August 202576th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people446.3 · 202597th percentile
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- 75.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line24.5% · 202481st percentile
- People with a disability16.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,747 · 202491st percentile
- People below the poverty line18.2% · 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance9.8% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
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- 72.7 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.6% · 2020 to 202479th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average4.5% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202665th percentile
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- 66.8 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 income21.8% · fiscal year 202761st percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent21.9% · 2020 to 202472nd 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 Monroe 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
Monroe County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Monroe County in 2024, pay from work was 51 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 16 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 10 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Monroe County, benefit checks rose from 10 to 34 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Monroe County, Mississippi: 33.5% and 50.5% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 33.5% of all personal income in Monroe 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 Monroe County, 20.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How Monroe County has changed
The number of people living in Monroe County stayed about the same between 1969 and 2024, from 34,155 to 33,483. The number of jobs located there fell by about three in 10 from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 7.8% in 1990 to 4.7% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 34,155 | 2024 33,483 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 12,429 | 2024 9,148 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.8% | 2025 4.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.4% | 2024 18.2% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $19,822 | 2024 $49,747 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 9.9% | 2024 33.5% |
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 Monroe County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 38,014. The 2020 Census counted 34,180, 90% of the peak. Census Bureau
1821
Created in 1821 when new lines of demarcation placed the area east of the Tombigbee River in Mississippi, separate from Marion County. Wikipedia
1956
Tornado: $2.5 million in property damage, one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
Tornado: $2.5 million in property damage, 16 deaths. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
Tornado: $3 million in property damage, one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
Tornado: $80 million in property damage, two deaths. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Monroe County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Monroe County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Monroe County, in Mississippi and Alabama, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Monroe County ranks 3rd of the eight; Chickasaw County is highest, at 39.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County, MS | 95 | 20.6% | 31.0% |
| Monroe County, MS | 93 | 18.2% | 33.5% |
| Chickasaw County, MS | 93 | 23.1% | 39.9% |
| Lowndes County, MS | 81 | 17.5% | 27.0% |
| Marion County, AL | 80 | 16.3% | 32.3% |
| Lee County, MS | 78 | 16.2% | 24.3% |
| Lamar County, AL | 76 | 18.1% | 38.4% |
| Itawamba County, MS | 60 | 18.7% | 31.4% |
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 Monroe County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Monroe County's poverty rate was 18.2% in 2024, 58th 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, Monroe County ranks 28th of 82 in the state.
Monroe County in photographs
Places in Monroe County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
The Buttahatchee River in Monroe County, Mississippi.
Ciesta Furniture, New Wren, Monroe County, Mississippi.
Monroe County, Mississippi: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Monroe County, Mississippi?
18.2% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in six people. Among children it was 24.5%.
Is Monroe County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Monroe County's poverty rate was 18.2% in 2024, 58th 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, Monroe County ranks 28th of 82 in the state.
What is the population of Monroe County, Mississippi?
About 33,483 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 34,180, 90% of the county's peak of 38,014 in 2000.
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 Monroe 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.