About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Panola County, Mississippi, are not working
In Panola County, 30.8% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Panola County's score
In Panola County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 96.4. People with a car or retail loan behind: 14.8%, August 2025, higher than in 99% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 94.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Panola 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.
Panola 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.
- 96.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.2% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind14.8% · August 202599th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score58.7% · second quarter of 202694th percentile
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- 94.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.4% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people615.3 · 202599th percentile
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- 83.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.7% · 202489th percentile
- Children below the poverty line31.5% · 202493rd percentile
- People with a disability17.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- People without health insurance12.7% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,437 · 202489th percentile
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- 75.1 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 working30.8% · 2020 to 202491st percentile
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- 61.2 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 rent19.6% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.1% · fiscal year 202763rd 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 Panola 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 Panola County, 17.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Panola County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Panola County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 34.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Panola County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 34.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Panola County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 16.0% in 2012 to 19.3% in 2013.
The share of households in Panola County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 12.8% 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, Panola County, Mississippi.
How Panola County has changed
Panola County's population had its largest rise, from 31,810 in 1994 to 33,948 in 1999.
Panola County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32,764
High on the chart: 34,768 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Panola County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Panola County fell most sharply on the way to its 2020 low, from 10,825 in 2015 to 9,904 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Panola County rose 6% from 1990 to 2025
High on the chart: 10,982 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Panola County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.1% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.2% | 2024 20.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,191 | 2024 $51,437 |
The table uses 4.6% 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 Panola County's history
1836
Established February 9, 1836; one of twelve large northern Mississippi counties created from the Chickasaw Cession of 1832. Wikipedia
1978
A tornado in May 1978 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in November 2001 did $2 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 34,707. The 2020 Census counted 33,208, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A thunderstorm in June 2011 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in April 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
26 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Panola County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Panola County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Panola County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Panola County ranks 4th of the seven; Quitman County is highest, at 50.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tunica County, MS | 99 | 25.0% | 33.1% |
| Quitman County, MS | 97 | 31.9% | 50.3% |
| Panola County, MS | 96 | 20.7% | 34.2% |
| Yalobusha County, MS | 88 | 18.7% | 43.7% |
| Tallahatchie County, MS | 83 | 32.3% | 38.0% |
| Tate County, MS | 80 | 15.0% | 27.9% |
| Lafayette County, MS | 53 | 17.9% | 19.0% |
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 Panola County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Panola County's poverty rate was 20.7% in 2024, 33rd 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, Panola County ranks 20th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Panola 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 Panola 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 Panola County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.