#1,430 Mississippi · 2026

Rankin County, Mississippi

52.9 · moderate county distress 1,430th of 3,144 counties nationally · 160,417 residents How this is calculated →
The headline number
8% Rankin residents
vs.
5% U.S. median

Above the national median for auto loan delinquency.

Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)

Main Findings

Wire lede · 40 words · paste-ready

Rankin County, Mississippi ranks 1,430th most distressed in the United States on the County Distress Index. The driver: 8% of auto loan accounts are 60+ days past due — above the national median of 5%. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency.

Key Findings
  • 1,430th of 3,144 counties on the County Distress Index — 52.9 · moderate county distress, 78th in Mississippi.
  • 8% of auto loan accounts are 60+ days past due (U.S. median 5%). Auto loan delinquency at the 81st percentile nationally. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
  • Severe rent burden (50%+) at 27% — national median 18%, ranked at the 93rd percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023).
  • Bankruptcy filing rate at 365 — national median 126, ranked at the 95th percentile. Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025).
  • Uninsured rate at 9% — national median 8%, ranked at the 60th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023).
Distinctive Signals
Boundary Signal

Neighbors span four CDI score labels. The 40-point drop to Madison County marks where the Mississippi distress corridor ends.

County Distress Index cluster map. Rankin County, Mississippi and its neighbors colored by county distress score label.
Rankin and its 5 geographic neighbors, graded by County Distress Index score. Rankin County ranks 1,430th of 3,144. American Default Research
Wire summary — paste-ready, any angle 26 words

Rankin County has a moderate county distress score. The county sits near the middle of the CDI score scale, so the domain mix carries the story.

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

The CDI gives this county a moderate county distress label. The domain mix matters because the same composite score can come from very different local conditions. 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

2.8% -1.5 pp since 1990
Census 1989 to 2024

Poverty rate

8.9% -1.9 pp since 1989
BEA 1969 to 2024

Transfer income share

19.7% +13.9 pp since 1969
FRED/Equifax 2014 Q2 to 2025 Q4

Subprime credit population

30.6% -4.1 pp since 2014 Q2

The Indicators Behind Rankin County's CDI Score

Every number traces to a public source. Rankin 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 Rankin County's national rank among all 3,144 U.S. counties for that indicator, always oriented so higher = more distressed.
Indicator Rankin MS median U.S. median Pctile Source
Delinquency — domain score 76 · Rank 644 of 3,144
Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due 8% 10% 5% 81st Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due 7% 9% 5% 71st Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 31% 38% 23% 77th Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Equifax (2025)
Default & Legal — domain score 73 · Rank 653 of 3,144
Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections 23% 31% 23% 51st Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents 365 314 126 95th Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025)
Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 75 · Rank 556 of 3,144
Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income 22% 22% 21% 57th HUD FMR (FY2026); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent 27% 19% 18% 93rd U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Labor — domain score 9 · Rank 2,846 of 3,144
Unemployment Share of labor force unemployed 2% 4% 4% 9th U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026)
Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 32 · Rank 2,303 of 3,144
Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line 11% 28% 18% 16th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability 14% 19% 16% 35th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line 10% 20% 14% 19th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage 9% 12% 8% 60th 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 76
Weight 20% · Rank 644 of 3,144
Debt Burden (housing basis) 75
Weight 20% · Rank 556 of 3,144
Default & Legal 73
Weight 20% · Rank 653 of 3,144
Safety Net & Buffer 32
Weight 20% · Rank 2,303 of 3,144
Labor 9
Weight 20% · Rank 2,846 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 Rankin County data — in under 60 seconds.

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Press contact: Ross Kilburn · press@americandefault.org · (307) 264-2992 · same-day response, 9am–6pm ET
Draft wire copy 129-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
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BRANDON, Miss. — Rankin County ranks 1,430th 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 52.9 out of 100 gives Rankin a moderate county distress label. Among 3,144 U.S. counties scored, 1,429 counties rank more distressed. Within Mississippi, Rankin ranks 78th 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 Rankin. 8% of auto loan accounts are 60+ days past due — above 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 Rankin County's CDI score, and what does it mean?

Rankin County scores 52.9 out of 100 on the County Distress Index, with the score label moderate county distress. It ranks 1,430th of 3,144 U.S. counties and 78th of 82 Mississippi counties. Higher county scores indicate more distress.

What drives Rankin County's distress score?

The highest-scoring domain is Delinquency, at a domain score of 76. Auto loan delinquency ranks at the 81st percentile nationally.

How does Rankin County compare to its neighbors?

Rankin County's neighbors span 4 CDI score labels. Highest-distress neighbor: Hinds County (83.16, very high county distress). Lowest: Madison County (43.00, 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.

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