Sunflower County, Mississippi

County Distress Index: Serious · 67.4 | 24,468 people · 22nd most distressed in Mississippi
American Default Research

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Sunflower County, MS shows significant household financial distress with a score of 67.4 — 347th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within Mississippi, it ranks 22nd of 82 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 5 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Sunflower County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 90.4 — worse than roughly 90% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 90.4
Poverty Rate 99
Income vs. State Median 74
Child Poverty Rate 98
Debt & Delinquency 90.2
Debt in Collections 97
Medical Debt 64
Student Loan Delinquency 96
Auto Loan Delinquency 99
Credit Card Delinquency 97
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 87
Housing Cost Burden 58.3
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 75
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 47
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 6
Homeownership Rate 96
Rent-to-Income Ratio 67
Community Vulnerability 58.3
Uninsured Rate 74
Disability Rate 43
Employment & Wages 39.8
Unemployment Rate 58
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 47
Business Formation Rate 14

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

Neighbors and Peers

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

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Sunflower County
Sunflower County, MS 67.4 Serious —
Humphreys County, MS 79.0 Serious +11.6
Washington County, MS 78.1 Serious +10.7
Bolivar County, MS 76.5 Serious +9.1
Coahoma County, MS 74.9 Serious +7.5
Leflore County, MS 73.6 Serious +6.2
Tallahatchie County, MS 67.3 Serious -0.1

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Sunflower County
Karnes County, TX 67.4 Serious -0.0
Richland Parish, LA 67.4 Serious -0.0
Marion County, SC 67.4 Serious +0.0
Magoffin County, KY 67.4 Serious -0.0
Camp County, TX 67.5 Serious +0.1

Download Data

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

Find Help in Sunflower 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 Sunflower 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 Sunflower County, Mississippi?

    Sunflower County has a County Distress Index score of 67.4 out of 100, placing it in the Serious zone. It ranks 347th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 22nd in Mississippi out of 82 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Sunflower County?

    The primary driver of distress in Sunflower County is Income & Poverty, where the county scores 90.4 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Poverty Rate, Income vs. State Median, Child Poverty Rate.

  • How does Sunflower County compare to neighboring counties?

    Sunflower County (67.4) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Humphreys County, MS (79.0); Washington County, MS (78.1); Bolivar County, MS (76.5).

  • 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 Sunflower County?

    Sunflower County, Mississippi has a population of approximately 24,468 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a small county.