#1,007 Mississippi · 2026

Prentiss County, Mississippi

60.7 · moderate-high county distress 1,007th of 3,144 counties nationally · 25,135 residents How this is calculated →
The headline number
11% Prentiss residents
vs.
5% U.S. median

More than double the national median for credit card delinquency.

Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)

Main Findings

Wire lede · 42 words · paste-ready

Prentiss County, Mississippi ranks 1,007th most distressed in the United States on the County Distress Index. The driver: 11% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due — more than double the national median of 5%. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency.

Key Findings
  • 1,007th of 3,144 counties on the County Distress Index — 60.7 · moderate-high county distress, 67th in Mississippi.
  • 11% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due (U.S. median 5%). Credit card delinquency at the 97th percentile nationally. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
  • Bankruptcy filing rate at 386 — national median 126, ranked at the 96th percentile. Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025).
  • Poverty rate at 18% — national median 14%, ranked at the 77th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023).
  • Labor domain score 34 — weight 20.0% of the CDI composite. Source: American Default Research.
Distinctive Signals
Labor–Credit Divergence

Unemployment is 3%, near the national median of 4%, while credit card delinquency runs at the 97th percentile. Jobs exist; wages don't close the gap.

Boundary Signal

Neighbors span three CDI score labels. The 15-point drop to Itawamba County marks where the Mississippi distress corridor ends.

County Distress Index cluster map. Prentiss County, Mississippi and its neighbors colored by county distress score label.
Prentiss and its 6 geographic neighbors, graded by County Distress Index score. Prentiss County ranks 1,007th of 3,144. American Default Research
Wire summary — paste-ready, any angle 21 words

Prentiss County has a moderate-high county distress score. The domain mix shows whether pressure is concentrated or spread across the profile.

— American Default Research
Index note — for feature use 31 words

The CDI gives this county a moderate-high county distress label. The domain table shows whether the score comes from debt, labor, safety-net pressure, or a mix. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency.

— American Default Research

Indicator History

Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.

Updated Jul 1, 2026
BLS 1990 to 2025

Unemployment rate

3.6% -5.7 pp since 1990
Census 1989 to 2024

Poverty rate

20.3% +1.4 pp since 1989
BEA 1969 to 2024

Transfer income share

34.1% +21.5 pp since 1969
FRED/Equifax 2014 Q2 to 2025 Q4

Subprime credit population

32.8% -6.8 pp since 2014 Q2

The Indicators Behind Prentiss County's CDI Score

Every number traces to a public source. Prentiss County's value shown alongside MS's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.

How to read the table. A domain score is a 0–100 composite of the indicators in that domain; higher values represent a higher mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles. A county's domain rank is computed separately against all counties. Percentile is Prentiss County's national rank among all 3,144 U.S. counties for that indicator, always oriented so higher = more distressed.
Indicator Prentiss MS median U.S. median Pctile Source
Delinquency — domain score 88 · Rank 299 of 3,144
Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due 8% 10% 5% 85th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due 11% 9% 5% 97th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 33% 38% 23% 82nd Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Equifax (2025)
Default & Legal — domain score 79 · Rank 468 of 3,144
Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections 26% 31% 23% 61st Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents 386 314 126 96th Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025)
Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 32 · Rank 2,344 of 3,144
Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income 20% 22% 21% 40th HUD FMR (FY2026); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent 13% 19% 18% 24th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Labor — domain score 34 · Rank 2,026 of 3,144
Unemployment Share of labor force unemployed 3% 4% 4% 34th U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026)
Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 71 · Rank 739 of 3,144
Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line 24% 28% 18% 76th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability 18% 19% 16% 65th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line 18% 20% 14% 77th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage 8% 12% 8% 54th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Data compiled May 2026 from Urban Institute Debt in America (2025 panel), U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-yr 2023, SAIPE 2023, Business Formation Statistics 2024), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS May 2026, QCEW 2024), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings 2025), and HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2026).

Five-Domain Breakdown

The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.

Delinquency Primary driver 88
Weight 20% · Rank 299 of 3,144
Default & Legal 79
Weight 20% · Rank 468 of 3,144
Safety Net & Buffer 71
Weight 20% · Rank 739 of 3,144
Labor 34
Weight 20% · Rank 2,026 of 3,144
Debt Burden (housing basis) 32
Weight 20% · Rank 2,344 of 3,144

Methodology

The County Distress Index is a 0–100 composite score of household financial distress, computed for all 3,144 U.S. counties. Higher scores indicate greater distress. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the CDI score is the equal-weight mean of those domain scores.

Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), FRED/Equifax (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), U.S. Courts Administrative Office (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and HUD Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2022 to 2026 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.

For Press & Research

Everything you need to cite Prentiss County data — in under 60 seconds.

Embed preview — paste into any CMS <iframe src="https://americandefault.org/embed/county/28117/" width="600" height="300" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:8px;" title="Prentiss County, MS — County Distress Index"></iframe>
Press contact: Ross Kilburn · press@americandefault.org · (307) 264-2992 · same-day response, 9am–6pm ET
Draft wire copy 131-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
DRAFT · 131 words · for immediate release · cleared for reuse with attribution to American Default Research

BOONEVILLE, Miss. — Prentiss County ranks 1,007th among the nation's most financially distressed counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.

The composite score of 60.7 out of 100 gives Prentiss a moderate-high county distress label. Among 3,144 U.S. counties scored, 1,006 counties rank more distressed. Within Mississippi, Prentiss ranks 67th of 82 counties.

The index, which draws on 13 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, identifies delinquency as the primary driver in Prentiss. 11% of credit card accounts are 60+ days past due — more than double the national median of 5%.

American Default Research founder Ross Kilburn is available for interview at press@americandefault.org.

Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.

— 30 —

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Prentiss County's CDI score, and what does it mean?

Prentiss County scores 60.7 out of 100 on the County Distress Index, with the score label moderate-high county distress. It ranks 1,007th of 3,144 U.S. counties and 67th of 82 Mississippi counties. Higher county scores indicate more distress.

What drives Prentiss County's distress score?

The highest-scoring domain is Delinquency, at a domain score of 88. Credit card delinquency ranks at the 97th percentile nationally.

How does Prentiss County compare to its neighbors?

Prentiss County's neighbors span three CDI score labels. Highest-distress neighbor: Alcorn County (64.07, moderate-high county distress). Lowest: Itawamba County (48.88, moderate-low county distress).

How is the County Distress Index calculated?

The CDI is a 0–100 composite of 13 source indicators across five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Data comes from Urban Institute, Census Bureau, BLS, U.S. Courts, HUD, and related public sources. Full methodology →
Ross Kilburn
Written by

Ross Kilburn, Founder

Founder · American Default Research · Seattle, Washington

Two decades working directly with financially distressed American households — from property preservation in 2003, to negotiating over 1,000 short sales during the Great Recession, to foreclosure defense marketing today. Author, The Ark Law Group Complete Guide to Short Sales (Auroch Press, 2013). Founded American Default Research in 2026.

Read more
from Ross →