About one in three people in Sunflower County, Mississippi, lives below the poverty line
In Sunflower County, 29.8% of people lived below the poverty line (Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024). That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sunflower County's score
In Sunflower County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 98.5. About one in two people (46.4%, Q4 2025) has a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 99% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 92.0.
The County Distress Index combines five things we measure for every county: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each gets a score from 0 to 100; the higher the score, the worse off the county is compared with others.
Sunflower County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (14.7%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.0%, 2020 to 2024).
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Sunflower County ranks among all 3,144 U.S. counties on that measure, as a percentile: the share of counties it is higher than. A longer bar means more trouble.
- 98.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind14.6% · August 202598th percentile
- People with a credit card behind11.2% · August 202597th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.4% · Q4 202599th percentile
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- 92.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector42.9% · August 202597th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people261.6 · 202586th percentile
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- 81.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line40.6% · 202498th percentile
- People with a disability14.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$41,873 · 202498th percentile
- People below the poverty line29.8% · 202498th percentile
- People without health insurance11.4% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
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- 72.9 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average4.7% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202673rd percentile
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- 65.4 of 100
Housing costs
HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027; renters, 2020–24 Census survey
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.9% · fiscal year 202787th percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent17.0% · 2020 to 202443rd percentile
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Sources: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and U.S. Census Bureau income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; 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 Aug 2026.
Where the money in Sunflower County comes from
The Bureau of Economic Analysis adds up all the income that reaches the people of a county and splits it three ways: pay from work, income from investments and rent, and benefit checks.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sunflower County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Sunflower County in 2024, pay from work was 46 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 14 cents. Benefit checks were 40 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 13 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Sunflower County, benefit checks rose from 13 to 40 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Sunflower County, Mississippi: 39.6% and 46.3% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 39.6% of all personal income in Sunflower County, Mississippi (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC4).
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 Sunflower County, 15.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How Sunflower County has changed
The number of people living in Sunflower County fell by about four in 10 between 1969 and 2024, from 37,972 to 23,029. The number of jobs located there fell by about three in 10 from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 11.6% in 1990 to 4.8% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 37,972 | 2024 23,029 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 12,194 | 2024 8,222 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.6% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 49.9% | 2024 29.8% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $13,394 | 2024 $41,873 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 13.1% | 2024 39.6% |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices. We don't chart the distress score over time because it compares counties at one moment.
Dated events in Sunflower County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 66,364. The 2020 Census counted 25,971, 39% of the peak. Census Bureau
1831
Choctaw ceded land under Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek 1831. Wikipedia
1844
February 15, 1844; land ceded by Choctaw under the 1831 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek; initial seat at Clayton. Wikipedia
1971
Tornado: $2.5 million in property damage, 25 deaths. NOAA Storm Events Database
1971
Tornado: three deaths. NOAA Storm Events Database
1988
Tornado: $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
Thunderstorm wind: $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sunflower County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Sunflower County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Sunflower County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sunflower County ranks 3rd of the seven; Humphreys County is highest, at 47.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolivar County, MS | 99 | 30.0% | 37.0% |
| Coahoma County, MS | 99 | 34.9% | 41.1% |
| Leflore County, MS | 99 | 31.2% | 34.3% |
| Washington County, MS | 99 | 29.4% | 36.1% |
| Humphreys County, MS | 98 | 33.3% | 47.1% |
| Sunflower County, MS | 96 | 29.8% | 39.6% |
| Tallahatchie County, MS | 83 | 32.3% | 38.0% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Aug 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 Sunflower County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Sunflower County's poverty rate was 29.8% in 2024, 13th 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, Sunflower County ranks 21st of 82 in the state.
Sunflower County in photographs
Places in Sunflower County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
Sunflower County Courthouse in Indianola, Mississippi.
Photo: Jimmy Emerson from Dalton GA via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Inwood Sign along Hwy.
Sunflower County, Mississippi: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Sunflower County, Mississippi?
29.8% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in three people. Among children it was 40.6%.
Is Sunflower County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Sunflower County's poverty rate was 29.8% in 2024, 13th 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, Sunflower County ranks 21st of 82 in the state.
What is the population of Sunflower County, Mississippi?
About 23,029 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 25,971, 39% of the county's peak of 66,364 in 1930.
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
We rank every U.S. county on 14 federal measures of money trouble, grouped into five equally weighted parts, and average them. The published score is the share of the other 3,143 counties with a lower average. The methodology lists every measure and its source.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sunflower County
A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved housing counselor works at a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The counseling to avoid foreclosure is free, and a counselor can help you talk to your mortgage company and understand what it offers, according to the Consumer Financial Protection BureauSourceCFPB.
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Mississippi Center for Legal Services
Legal aid
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North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Counseling to avoid foreclosure is free. Our help directory lists 1,313 approved agencies 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 Sunflower County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Aug 2026, built from HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Urban Institute, Debt in America; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. Our methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Sunflower County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.