About one in five people in Tippah County, Mississippi, has a disability
In Tippah County, 20.2% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 80% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 72% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tippah County's score
In Tippah County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 93.6. People with a credit card behind: 13.4%, August 2025, higher than in 99% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 83.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tippah 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.
Tippah County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (8.9%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind13.4% · August 202599th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.8% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.5% · second quarter of 202687th percentile
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- 83.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.4% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people300.7 · 202591st percentile
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- 77.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.2% · 202471st percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.2% · 202469th percentile
- People with a disability20.2% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance11.9% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$53,948 · 202484th percentile
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- 38.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202615th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working22.5% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
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- 26.9 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 rent8.9% · 2020 to 202410th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.1% · fiscal year 202743rd 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 Tippah 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 Tippah 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
Tippah County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Tippah County had its largest rise, from 27.7% in 2004 to 33.7% in 2009.
In Tippah County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 32.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Tippah County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Tippah County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.0% in 2011 to 17.5% in 2012.
The share of households in Tippah County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2020, reaching 14.2%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Tippah County, Mississippi.
How Tippah County has changed
Tippah County's population had its largest rise, from 15,810 in 1969 to 17,810 in 1974.
Tippah County's population rose by about a third from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21,423
High on the chart: 22,171 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tippah County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Tippah County fell most sharply after its 2005 high, from 7,266 in 2005 to 5,650 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Tippah County was about the same in 2025 as in 1990, after reaching its lowest on the chart in 2010
Low on the chart: 5,650 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Tippah County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.3% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.3% | 2024 16.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,209 | 2024 $53,948 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Tippah County's history
1836
Founded 1836. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 22,232. The 2020 Census counted 21,815, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau
2015
A tornado in December 2015 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tippah County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Tippah County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Tippah County, in Mississippi and Tennessee, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Tippah County ranks 5th of the six; Hardeman County is highest, at 40.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardeman County, TN | 98 | 21.5% | 40.0% |
| Benton County, MS | 86 | 19.9% | 35.7% |
| Prentiss County, MS | 79 | 20.3% | 34.1% |
| Alcorn County, MS | 73 | 15.4% | 33.0% |
| Tippah County, MS | 72 | 16.2% | 32.8% |
| Union County, MS | 68 | 14.0% | 28.7% |
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 Tippah County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Tippah County's poverty rate was 16.2% in 2024, 65th 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, Tippah County ranks 68th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tippah 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 Tippah 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 Tippah County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.