About two in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Noxubee County, Mississippi, are not working
In Noxubee County, 41.6% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Noxubee County's score
In Noxubee County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. About two in five people with a credit file (41.8%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 94.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Noxubee 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.
Noxubee 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.
- 95.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.8% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people393.4 · 2025top 5%
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- 94.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line27.4% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line38.0% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability26.8% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance15.8% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$41,273 · 2024top 5%
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- 91.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.7% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.6% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score62.8% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 85.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202676th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working41.6% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 85.5 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 rent23.9% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income26.3% · fiscal year 202788th 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 Noxubee 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 Noxubee County, 18.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Noxubee County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Noxubee County had its largest rise, from 13.4% in 1969 to 22.4% in 1974.
In Noxubee County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 29% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Noxubee County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Noxubee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 27.7% in 2022 to 32.4% in 2023.
The share of households in Noxubee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 31.3%
Low on the chart: 24.8% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Noxubee County, Mississippi.
How Noxubee County has changed
Noxubee County's population fell by about a third to 9,825, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 13,347. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Noxubee County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Noxubee County had its largest drop, from 3,044 in 2005 to 2,501 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Noxubee County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 37% since
High on the chart: 3,497 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Noxubee County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.7% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 39.7% | 2024 27.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $12,934 | 2024 $41,273 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Noxubee County's history
1863
Macon served as Mississippi state capital 1863 onward during Civil War. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 30,846. The 2020 Census counted 10,285, 33% of the peak. Census Bureau
1957
A tornado in June 1957 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1957
A tornado in November 1957 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in January 2011 did $1.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2023
Hail in June 2023 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Noxubee County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Noxubee County beside its neighbors
Noxubee County scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Mississippi and Alabama. For the share of income from benefit checks, Noxubee County ranks 3rd of the seven; Kemper County is highest, at 44.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noxubee County, MS | 99 | 27.4% | 38.8% |
| Sumter County, AL | 97 | 32.6% | 39.7% |
| Kemper County, MS | 94 | 25.4% | 44.7% |
| Winston County, MS | 93 | 22.0% | 34.7% |
| Pickens County, AL | 92 | 22.0% | 36.2% |
| Oktibbeha County, MS | 82 | 19.4% | 23.5% |
| Lowndes County, MS | 81 | 17.5% | 27.0% |
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 Noxubee County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Noxubee County's poverty rate was 27.4% in 2024, 15th 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, Noxubee County ranks 5th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Noxubee 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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Mississippi Center for 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 Noxubee 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 Noxubee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.