About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Union County, Mississippi, are not working
In Union County, 30.3% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Union County's score
In Union County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 85.8. People with a car or retail loan behind: 10.4%, August 2025, higher than in 93% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 80.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Union 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.
Union County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.3%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.3% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.4% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.6% · second quarter of 202671st percentile
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- 80.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.3% · August 202565th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people367.7 · 202594th percentile
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- 68.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.0% · 202456th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.5% · 202458th percentile
- People with a disability20.1% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- People without health insurance11.1% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$58,849 · 202473rd percentile
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- 51.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working30.3% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
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- 19.5 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 rent10.3% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.5% · fiscal year 202726th 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 Union 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 Union County, 16.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Union County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Union County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 22.1% in 2004 to 29.0% in 2009.
In Union County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 28.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Union County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Union County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 12.3% in 2019 to 8.9% in 2020.
The share of households in Union County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about half
Low on the chart: 7.0% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Union County, Mississippi.
How Union County has changed
Union County's population rose by about half to 28,363, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 24,673. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Union County, Mississippi.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Union County nearly doubled to 12,108, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 10,137. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Union County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.9% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.2% | 2024 14.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,365 | 2024 $58,849 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% 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 Union County's history
1950
A tornado in February 1950 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A thunderstorm in May 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 27,777, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A tornado in April 2025 did $1.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
19 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Union County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Union County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Union County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Union County ranks 5th of the eight; Benton County is highest, at 35.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall County, MS | 97 | 20.4% | 31.2% |
| Benton County, MS | 86 | 19.9% | 35.7% |
| Prentiss County, MS | 79 | 20.3% | 34.1% |
| Lee County, MS | 77 | 16.2% | 24.3% |
| Tippah County, MS | 72 | 16.2% | 32.8% |
| Pontotoc County, MS | 68 | 14.9% | 27.0% |
| Union County, MS | 68 | 14.0% | 28.7% |
| Lafayette County, MS | 53 | 17.9% | 19.0% |
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 Union County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Union County's poverty rate was 14.0% in 2024, 77th 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, Union County ranks 74th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Union 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.
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 Union County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.