About three in ten people in Washington County, Mississippi, live below the poverty line
In Washington County, 29.4% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Washington County's score
In Washington County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 99.3. People with a car or retail loan behind: 19.6%, August 2025, higher than in 99% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 95.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Washington 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.
Washington County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 99.4 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind13.5% · August 202599th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind19.6% · August 202599th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score64.5% · second quarter of 202698th percentile
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- 95.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector42.2% · August 202596th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people345.7 · 202593rd percentile
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- 92.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line29.4% · 202498th percentile
- Children below the poverty line43.6% · 202499th percentile
- People with a disability23.4% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- People without health insurance11.6% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$43,941 · 202497th percentile
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- 88.9 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 rent29.0% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.7% · fiscal year 202782nd percentile
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- 87.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202681st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working32.2% · 2020 to 202493rd 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 Washington 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 Washington County, 17.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Washington County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Washington County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 36.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Washington County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 36.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Washington 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 24.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Washington County, Mississippi.
How Washington County has changed
Washington County's population had its largest drop, from 63,714 in 1999 to 56,802 in 2004.
Washington County's population fell 42% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 73,217 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Washington County, Mississippi.
The number of jobs located in Washington County had its largest drop, from 23,452 in 2000 to 20,042 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Washington County fell 39% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 25,161 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Washington County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.4% | 2025 5.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 35.7% | 2024 29.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,793 | 2024 $43,941 |
The table uses 5.2% for 2025; the score uses 5.1% 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 Washington County's history
1827
Washington County was organized in 1827. Wikipedia
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 78,638. The 2020 Census counted 44,922, 57% of the peak. Census Bureau
2008
A flash flood in September 2008 did $10 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A tornado in October 2009 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in May 2011 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A thunderstorm in June 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Washington County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Washington County beside its neighbors
Washington County scores higher than all six counties that border it, in Mississippi and Arkansas. For the share of income from benefit checks, Washington County ranks 6th of the seven; Humphreys County is highest, at 47.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County, MS | 99 | 29.4% | 36.1% |
| Bolivar County, MS | 99 | 30.0% | 37.0% |
| Humphreys County, MS | 98 | 33.3% | 47.1% |
| Chicot County, AR | 97 | 27.9% | 41.3% |
| Sunflower County, MS | 96 | 29.8% | 39.6% |
| Sharkey County, MS | 96 | 32.6% | 44.7% |
| 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 Washington County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Washington County's poverty rate was 29.4% in 2024, 14th 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, Washington County ranks 2nd of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.