About one in three people with a credit file in Warren County, Mississippi, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Warren County, 35.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 86% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Warren County's score
In Warren County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 95.0. People with a car or retail loan behind: 13.7%, August 2025, higher than in 98% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 88.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Warren 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.
Warren County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.2%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.5% · August 202596th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind13.7% · August 202598th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score55.8% · second quarter of 202690th percentile
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- 88.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.0% · August 202586th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people290.8 · 202589th percentile
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- 75.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.8% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line30.0% · 202491st percentile
- People with a disability18.3% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- People without health insurance9.4% · 2020 to 202462nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,686 · 202468th percentile
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- 62.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202657th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working23.8% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
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- 46.3 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 rent17.9% · 2020 to 202448th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202744th 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 Warren 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 Warren County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Warren County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Warren County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 28.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Warren County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Warren County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 16.2% in 2020 to 14.0% in 2021.
The share of households in Warren County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 10.1% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Warren County, Mississippi.
How Warren County has changed
Warren County's population had its largest rise, from 47,071 in 1974 to 50,992 in 1979.
Warren County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 18% since
High on the chart: 51,268 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Warren County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Warren County had its largest rise, from 19,649 in 1990 to 25,005 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Warren County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 25,005 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Warren County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.4% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 21.0% | 2024 18.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,860 | 2024 $60,686 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Warren County's history
1809
Established by legislative act December 22, 1809. Wikipedia
1953
A tornado in December 1953 did $25 million in property damage and killed 38 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1971
A tornado in February 1971 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1980
The county's largest recorded population was the 1980 Census count of 51,627. The 2020 Census counted 44,722, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
2013
Hail in March 2013 did $75 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
Hail in March 2013 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Warren County, 17 of them for flooding. FEMA
Warren County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Warren County, in Mississippi and Louisiana, six score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Warren County ranks 7th of the eight; Claiborne County is highest, at 47.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Carroll Parish, LA | 99 | 44.4% | 45.3% |
| Madison Parish, LA | 99 | 33.3% | 41.5% |
| Yazoo County, MS | 98 | 25.5% | 34.5% |
| Claiborne County, MS | 98 | 33.3% | 47.1% |
| Hinds County, MS | 98 | 22.2% | 26.8% |
| Tensas Parish, LA | 97 | 27.4% | 39.0% |
| Warren County, MS | 88 | 18.8% | 28.2% |
| Issaquena County, MS | 84 | 55.7% | 31.9% |
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 Warren County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Warren County's poverty rate was 18.8% in 2024, 52nd 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, Warren County ranks 42nd of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Warren 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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Mississippi Center for 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 Warren 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 Warren County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.