About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Stone County, Mississippi, are not working
In Stone County, 29.6% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Stone County's score
In Stone County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 83.9. Income and the safety net comes next, at 75.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Stone 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.
Stone County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 83.9 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.6% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.9% · August 202582nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.3% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
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- 75.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.0% · 202470th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.1% · 202472nd percentile
- People with a disability21.9% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- People without health insurance12.9% · 2020 to 202482nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,350 · 202462nd percentile
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- 68.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.0% · August 202571st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people165.3 · 202564th percentile
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- 63.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.6% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
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- 42.1 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 rent16.5% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202744th 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 Stone 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 Stone County, 17.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Stone County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Stone County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 35.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Stone County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 35.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Stone County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 22.0% in 2016 to 18.0% in 2017.
The share of households in Stone County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 15.5%
Low on the chart: 15.0% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Stone County, Mississippi.
How Stone County has changed
Stone County's population had its largest rise, from 14,694 in 2004 to 17,408 in 2009.
Stone County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19,569, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2014 to 2019, reaching 18,291. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Stone County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Stone County had its largest rise, from 3,275 in 2000 to 3,977 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Stone County nearly doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 5,061, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 4,046. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Stone County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.3% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.9% | 2024 16.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,889 | 2024 $62,350 |
The table uses 4.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Stone County's history
1910
Wiggins business district destroyed by fire; pickle processing facility later closed. Wikipedia
1916
Formed June 5, 1916, from northern portion of Harrison County. Wikipedia
1995
A thunderstorm in March 1995 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 18,333, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1969
31 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Stone County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Stone County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Stone County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Stone County ranks 2nd of the seven; Perry County is highest, at 38.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forrest County, MS | 92 | 21.4% | 28.3% |
| Perry County, MS | 86 | 17.8% | 38.3% |
| Harrison County, MS | 84 | 15.9% | 27.9% |
| Stone County, MS | 78 | 16.0% | 35.8% |
| Pearl River County, MS | 76 | 16.5% | 30.2% |
| Jackson County, MS | 74 | 13.8% | 24.9% |
| George County, MS | 71 | 14.1% | 28.5% |
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 Stone County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Stone County's poverty rate was 16.0% in 2024, 68th 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, Stone County ranks 63rd of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Stone 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.
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 Stone County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.