About one in three people in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, lives below the poverty line
In Tallahatchie County, 32.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tallahatchie County's score
In Tallahatchie County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 94.5. People with a car or retail loan behind: 14.5%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 93.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tallahatchie 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.
Tallahatchie County does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (14.1%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.1%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 94.5 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.5% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind14.5% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score63.2% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 93.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector41.1% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people312.6 · 202592nd percentile
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- 85.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line32.3% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line44.0% · 2024top 5%
- People with a disability16.5% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- People without health insurance14.9% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$43,074 · 2024top 5%
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- 60.0 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 rent15.7% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.2% · fiscal year 202784th percentile
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- 15.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202618th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.1% · 2020 to 202412th 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 Tallahatchie 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 Tallahatchie County, 18.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Tallahatchie County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Tallahatchie County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 38.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Tallahatchie County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 21.9% in 2011 to 26.8% in 2012.
The share of households in Tallahatchie County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 21.1% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Tallahatchie County, Mississippi.
How Tallahatchie County has changed
Tallahatchie County's population fell 45% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2024, reaching 10,921. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tallahatchie County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Tallahatchie County had its largest drop, from 3,061 in 2015 to 2,645 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Tallahatchie County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 3,061 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Tallahatchie County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.2% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 44.3% | 2024 32.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $11,743 | 2024 $43,074 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.1% 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 Tallahatchie County's history
1833
December 31, 1833, after the Choctaw were relocated to Indian Territory. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 35,953. The 2020 Census counted 12,715, 35% of the peak. Census Bureau
1968
A tornado in December 1968 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1973
A tornado in April 1973 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $25 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A thunderstorm in April 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tallahatchie County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Tallahatchie County beside its neighbors
All seven counties that border Tallahatchie County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Tallahatchie County ranks 5th of the eight; Quitman County is highest, at 50.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leflore County, MS | 99 | 31.2% | 34.3% |
| Coahoma County, MS | 99 | 34.9% | 41.1% |
| Quitman County, MS | 97 | 31.9% | 50.3% |
| Panola County, MS | 96 | 20.7% | 34.2% |
| Sunflower County, MS | 96 | 29.8% | 39.6% |
| Grenada County, MS | 92 | 19.4% | 37.4% |
| Yalobusha County, MS | 88 | 18.7% | 43.7% |
| Tallahatchie County, MS | 83 | 32.3% | 38.0% |
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 Tallahatchie County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Tallahatchie County's poverty rate was 32.3% in 2024, 7th 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, Tallahatchie County ranks 56th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tallahatchie 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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North Mississippi Rural 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 Tallahatchie 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 Tallahatchie County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.