In Montgomery County, Mississippi, benefit checks brought in more money than paychecks in 2024
In 2024, 44 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 97% of U.S. counties.
What drives Montgomery County's score
In Montgomery County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 92.5. People with a credit card behind: 10.1%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 86.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Montgomery 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.
Montgomery County does better than most counties on one measure: 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.
- 92.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.1% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.8% · August 202587th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score61.2% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 86.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.1% · August 202577th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people458.3 · 2025top 5%
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- 84.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.8% · 202493rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line35.0% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability18.7% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- People without health insurance10.2% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,011 · 2024top 5%
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- 83.5 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 rent37.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.1% · fiscal year 202772nd percentile
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- 68.2 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 working32.6% · 2020 to 202493rd 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, 22.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Montgomery County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Montgomery County, benefit checks overtook pay in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Mississippi
In Montgomery County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 43.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Montgomery County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise in the last span, from 15.9% in 2023 to 20.1% in 2024.
The share of households in Montgomery County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 13.5% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Montgomery County, Mississippi.
How Montgomery County has changed
Montgomery County's population had its largest drop, from 12,265 in 1999 to 11,507 in 2004.
Montgomery County's population fell by about a quarter to 9,411, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 13,196 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Montgomery County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Montgomery County had its largest rise, from 2,960 in 1990 to 3,526 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Montgomery County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 3,526 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Montgomery County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.9% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.7% | 2024 22.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,679 | 2024 $47,011 |
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 Montgomery County's history
1830
Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced most Native Americans west of Mississippi River to open lands for settlement. Wikipedia
1871
Organized by legislature in 1871 during Reconstruction era. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 17,706. The 2020 Census counted 9,822, 55% of the peak. Census Bureau
1910
Great Migration from Montgomery County peaked population in 1910, declined markedly 1910-1920 and 1940-1970. Wikipedia
2006
Hail in April 2006 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in April 2017 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in April 2017 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
A tornado in March 2023 did $4.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Montgomery County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Montgomery County beside its neighbors
Montgomery County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Montgomery County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (43.8%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County, MS | 97 | 22.8% | 43.8% |
| Grenada County, MS | 92 | 19.4% | 37.4% |
| Attala County, MS | 87 | 19.5% | 36.2% |
| Choctaw County, MS | 85 | 20.6% | 33.9% |
| Carroll County, MS | 69 | 15.8% | 33.1% |
| Webster County, MS | 65 | 15.3% | 36.5% |
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 Montgomery County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Montgomery County's poverty rate was 22.8% in 2024, 22nd 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, Montgomery County ranks 18th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Montgomery 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 Montgomery 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 Montgomery County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.