In Quitman County, Mississippi, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2014
In 2024, 50 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 Quitman County's score
In Quitman County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 95.0. About half of people with a credit file (48.1%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 95.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Quitman 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.
Quitman County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector48.1% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people577 · 2025top 5%
-
- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind16.4% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind16.9% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score66.8% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
-
- 87.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line31.9% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line44.3% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability18.4% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- People without health insurance12.5% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$37,474 · 2024top 5%
-
- 77.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202666th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.5% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
-
- 66.3 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 rent16.1% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income29.0% · fiscal year 2027top 5%
-
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 Quitman 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 Quitman County, 18.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Quitman County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Quitman County, benefit checks have brought in more than pay since 2014
In Quitman County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 50.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Quitman County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2021 to 2022, reaching 25.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Quitman County, Mississippi.
How Quitman County has changed
Quitman County's population had its largest drop, from 16,409 in 1969 to 14,310 in 1974.
Quitman County's population fell by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 5,542, with no rise in any year shown
Smallest drop: 1994 to 1999, reaching 10,233. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Quitman County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Quitman County had its largest drop, from 1,786 in 2005 to 1,341 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Quitman County fell by about half from 1990 to 2025, reaching 977
High on the chart: 2,100 in 1990. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Quitman County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.9% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 46.8% | 2024 31.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $11,764 | 2024 $37,474 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Quitman County's history
1877
Quitman County was formed in 1877 from portions of Tunica, Coahoma, Panola, and Tallahatchie Counties; the bill for its creation was introduced into the Mississippi Legislature by Leopold Marks. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 27,191. The 2020 Census counted 6,176, 23% of the peak. Census Bureau
1940
Thousands of African Americans left in Great Migration to St. Louis and Chicago. Wikipedia
1978
A tornado in May 1978 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in November 2001 did $5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in March 2016 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1973
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Quitman County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Quitman County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Quitman County, two score higher. Of the group, Quitman County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (50.3%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coahoma County, MS | 99 | 34.9% | 41.1% |
| Tunica County, MS | 99 | 25.0% | 33.1% |
| Quitman County, MS | 97 | 31.9% | 50.3% |
| Panola County, MS | 96 | 20.7% | 34.2% |
| Tallahatchie County, MS | 83 | 32.3% | 38.0% |
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 Quitman County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Quitman County's poverty rate was 31.9% in 2024, 8th 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, Quitman County ranks 15th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Quitman 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.
-
North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Legal aid
-
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 Quitman 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 Quitman County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.