About one in five people in Simpson County, Mississippi, lives below the poverty line
In Simpson County, 19.7% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 86% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Simpson County's score
In Simpson County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 95.0. About three in five people (60.6%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 96% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 87.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Simpson 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.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.9% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.5% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score60.6% · second quarter of 202696th percentile
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- 87.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.0% · August 202581st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people315 · 202592nd percentile
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- 82.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.7% · 202486th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.7% · 202489th percentile
- People with a disability21.3% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
- People without health insurance10.1% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$55,167 · 202482nd percentile
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- 54.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.7% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
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- 48.3 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 rent19.5% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.7% · fiscal year 202738th 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 Simpson 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 Simpson County, 19.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Simpson County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Simpson County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 35.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Simpson County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 35.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Simpson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.1% in 2012 to 17.2% in 2013.
The share of households in Simpson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen to 12.4%
Biggest drop: 2010 to 2011, reaching 14.6%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Simpson County, Mississippi.
How Simpson County has changed
Simpson County's population had its largest rise, from 25,456 in 1994 to 27,308 in 1999.
Simpson County's population rose by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 25,597
High on the chart: 27,512 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Simpson County, Mississippi.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Simpson County rose 11% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2000 and 2005
High on the chart: 7,620 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Simpson County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.3% | 2024 19.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,731 | 2024 $55,167 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Simpson County's history
1824
Founded 1824. Wikipedia
1969
A tornado in January 1969 killed 12 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
A tornado in April 1980 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1994
A tornado in November 1994 did $2 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 27,639. The 2020 Census counted 25,949, 94% of the peak. Census Bureau
2024
A thunderstorm in June 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1969
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Simpson County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Simpson County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Simpson County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Simpson County ranks 4th of the seven; Jefferson Davis County is highest, at 42.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copiah County, MS | 96 | 19.5% | 35.8% |
| Jefferson Davis County, MS | 91 | 23.9% | 42.8% |
| Lawrence County, MS | 88 | 19.9% | 39.0% |
| Simpson County, MS | 88 | 19.7% | 35.2% |
| Covington County, MS | 83 | 20.0% | 31.7% |
| Smith County, MS | 70 | 16.7% | 29.8% |
| Rankin County, MS | 48 | 8.9% | 19.7% |
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 Simpson County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Simpson County's poverty rate was 19.7% in 2024, 43rd 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, Simpson County ranks 43rd of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Simpson 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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Mississippi Center for 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 Simpson 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 Simpson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.