In Tunica County, Mississippi, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in three dollars of the typical household's income
In Tunica County, 30.6% of the median household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom at HUD's fair market rent (HUD and Census Bureau, HUD rent fiscal year 2027; household income 2024). That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Tunica County's score
In Tunica County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 95.0. Rent on a two-bedroom takes 30.6% of the median household's income (fiscal year 2027), higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 95.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Tunica 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.
Tunica County does better than most counties on one measure: people with a disability (10.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. In a county of 20,000 people or fewer, the index stops each measure at the 95th percentile, so "95th+" means among the highest 5% of U.S. counties. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 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 income30.6% · fiscal year 202795th+ percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent33.9% · 2020 to 202495th+ percentile
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- 95.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector42.2% · August 202595th+ percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people498.2 · 202595th+ percentile
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- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a car or retail loan behind19.6% · August 202595th+ percentile
- People with a credit card behind12.1% · August 202595th+ percentile
- People with a subprime credit score66.8% · second quarter of 202695th+ percentile
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- 89.4 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working33.2% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average5.2% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202684th percentile
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- 74.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line39.8% · 202495th+ percentile
- People with a disability10.5% · 2020 to 20245th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$45,292 · 202495th+ percentile
- People below the poverty line25.0% · 202495th+ percentile
- People without health insurance13.1% · 2020 to 202483rd 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 Tunica 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. 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 Tunica County, 14.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Tunica County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Tunica County in 2024, pay from work was 50 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 17 cents. Benefit checks were 33 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
In Tunica County, benefit checks' share of income has about doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Tunica County, Mississippi, every fifth year and 2024: benefit checks 16.6% and pay 67.6% in 1969; benefit checks 33.1% and pay 50.0% in 2024.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
Benefit checks have grown from 17 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis counts SNAP food aid as one of the benefit checks. In the SNAP chart below, the biggest rise came between 2010 and 2011.
The share of households in Tunica County getting SNAP food aid was highest of the years shown in 2016, at 31.9%, and is down 11% from the peak
Low: 22.3% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Tunica County, Mississippi.
How Tunica County has changed
In the population chart below, the biggest drop came between 1969 and 1974.
Tunica County's population fell by about 26% from 1969 to 2024, with the low point in 1989
Low: 8,333 in 1989. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Tunica County, Mississippi.
In the jobs chart below, the biggest rise came between 1990 and 1995.
The number of jobs located in Tunica County was highest of the years shown in 2000 and has fallen by more than half from the peak
High: 17,883 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2024, Tunica County, Mississippi.
The number of people living in Tunica County fell by about 26% between 1969 and 2024, from 12,378 to 9,157. The number of jobs located there more than doubled from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 13.3% in 1990 to 5.2% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 13.3% | 2025 5.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 56.0% | 2024 25.0% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $9,749 | 2024 $45,292 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Tunica County's history
1836
Tunica County founded in 1836. Wikipedia
1844
Mississippi River flood of 1844. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 22,610. The 2020 Census counted 9,782, 43% of the peak. Census Bureau
1962
A tornado in April 1962 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1983
A tornado in May 1983 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A flood in April 2008 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in May 2011 did $1 billion in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Tunica County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Tunica County beside its neighbors
Tunica County scores higher than all eight counties that border it, in Mississippi and Arkansas. For the share of income from benefit checks, Tunica County ranks 6th of the nine; Quitman County is highest, at 50.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips County, AR | 99 | 35.8% | 43.4% |
| Crittenden County, AR | 99 | 22.5% | 31.3% |
| Coahoma County, MS | 99 | 34.9% | 41.1% |
| Tunica County, MS | 99 | 25.0% | 33.1% |
| Lee County, AR | 98 | 41.3% | 39.1% |
| Quitman County, MS | 97 | 31.9% | 50.3% |
| Panola County, MS | 96 | 20.7% | 34.2% |
| Tate County, MS | 80 | 15.0% | 27.9% |
| DeSoto County, MS | 59 | 9.6% | 16.6% |
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 Tunica County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Tunica County's poverty rate was 25.0% in 2024, 18th 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, Tunica County ranks 6th of 82 in the state.
Tunica County in photographs
Places in Tunica County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
TUNICA COUNTY COURTHOUSE 1922-1923 BEAUX ARTS.
Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sam's Town Casino (Tunica, Mississippi).
Photo: Alberto Cabello from Vitoria Gasteiz via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
If you're behind on your mortgage in Tunica County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. 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 Bureau Source CFPB.
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Tunica Co. Community Dev. Coalition
HUD-approved housing counselor
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North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,012 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 Tunica 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 Tunica County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.