Scott County, Mississippi

County Distress Index: Elevated · 62.2 | 27,507 people · 42nd most distressed in Mississippi
American Default Research

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Scott County, MS registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 62.2 — 674th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Debt & Delinquency, where residents carry heavy debt burdens with elevated delinquency and collections rates. Within Mississippi, it ranks 42nd of 82 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 5 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Scott County's primary driver is Debt & Delinquency at 84.6 — worse than roughly 85% of U.S. counties.

Debt & Delinquency Primary driver 84.6
Debt in Collections 84
Medical Debt 84
Student Loan Delinquency 87
Auto Loan Delinquency 86
Credit Card Delinquency 74
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 92
Income & Poverty 77.1
Poverty Rate 89
Income vs. State Median 55
Child Poverty Rate 87
Community Vulnerability 72.6
Uninsured Rate 77
Disability Rate 68
Housing Cost Burden 40.2
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 9
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 23
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 35
Homeownership Rate 62
Rent-to-Income Ratio 72
Employment & Wages 36.6
Unemployment Rate 13
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 54
Business Formation Rate 43

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Scott County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Scott County
Scott County, MS 62.2 Elevated —
Leake County, MS 65.5 Serious +3.3
Jasper County, MS 61.4 Elevated -0.9
Newton County, MS 59.2 Elevated -3.0
Smith County, MS 52.5 Elevated -9.7
Rankin County, MS 44.5 Normal -17.7
Madison County, MS 39.6 Normal -22.6

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Scott County
Bethel Census Area, AK 62.2 Elevated -0.0
Charlotte County, VA 62.2 Elevated -0.0
Radford city, VA 62.3 Elevated +0.1
Rockcastle County, KY 62.3 Elevated +0.1
Breathitt County, KY 62.1 Elevated -0.1

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Scott County as a CSV file.

Find Help in Scott County

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Mississippi Bar Lawyer Referral offers a lawyer referral service for bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights.

Mississippi Bar Lawyer Referral 601-948-4471

Free Legal Aid

Legal aid organizations serving Scott County residents at no cost.

Mississippi Center for Legal Services 1-800-498-1804
North Mississippi Rural Legal Services 1-800-898-8731

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Scott County, Mississippi?

    Scott County has a County Distress Index score of 62.2 out of 100, placing it in the Elevated zone. It ranks 674th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 42nd in Mississippi out of 82 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Scott County?

    The primary driver of distress in Scott County is Debt & Delinquency, where the county scores 84.6 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Debt in Collections, Medical Debt, Student Loan Delinquency.

  • How does Scott County compare to neighboring counties?

    Scott County (62.2) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Leake County, MS (65.5); Jasper County, MS (61.4); Newton County, MS (59.2).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Scott County?

    Scott County, Mississippi has a population of approximately 27,507 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a small county.