Benefit checks make up 44 cents of every dollar of income in Yalobusha County, Mississippi
In Yalobusha County, 43.7% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks (Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024). That is higher than in 96% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Yalobusha County's score
In Yalobusha County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 91.7. People with a car or retail loan behind: 13.8%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 89.2.
The County Distress Index combines five things we measure for every county: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each gets a score from 0 to 100; the higher the score, the worse off the county is compared with others.
Yalobusha County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (13.8%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, 12-month average (3.6%, Sep 2025 to Aug 2026).
The five parts count equally; together they hold 14 measures. Under each part, a bar shows where Yalobusha County ranks among all 3,144 U.S. counties on that measure, as a percentile: the share of counties it is higher than. A longer bar means more trouble.
- 91.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, Q4 2025
- People with a car or retail loan behind13.8% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a credit card behind9.0% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score35.6% · Q4 202588th percentile
-
- 89.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.7% · August 202583rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people524.8 · 202595th percentile
-
- 83.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- Children below the poverty line28.1% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability20.1% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,848 · 202491st percentile
- People below the poverty line18.7% · 202482nd percentile
- People without health insurance11.5% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
-
- 60.9 of 100
Jobs
Adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey; unemployment through Aug 2026
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.7% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- Unemployment rate, 12-month average3.6% · Sep 2025 to Aug 202632nd percentile
-
- 43.6 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 income21.8% · fiscal year 202761st percentile
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent13.8% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
-
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 Yalobusha 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.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Yalobusha County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Yalobusha County in 2024, pay from work was 44 cents of every dollar of income. Income from investments and rentals was 12 cents. Benefit checks were 44 cents. Across the country, pay is 61 cents of the dollar and benefit checks are 18.
Benefit checks have grown from 17 cents of every dollar in 1969, but pay from work still brings in more.
In Yalobusha County, benefit checks rose from 17 to 44 cents of every dollar
Benefit checks and pay from work as shares of all personal income, Yalobusha County, Mississippi: 43.7% and 44.1% in 2024. Yearly, 1969–2024.
Use this chart Free to use with credit
The quote: In 2024, benefit checks made up 43.7% of all personal income in Yalobusha County, Mississippi (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC4).
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 Yalobusha County, 21.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally.
How Yalobusha County has changed
The number of people living in Yalobusha County stayed about the same between 1969 and 2024, from 12,016 to 12,458. The number of jobs located there fell by about two in 10 from 1990 to 2024.
Unemployment fell from 9.1% in 1990 to 3.8% in 2025.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| People living in the countyBEA | 1969 12,016 | 2024 12,458 |
| Jobs located in the countyBLS QCEW | 1990 3,381 | 2024 2,657 |
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.1% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.4% | 2024 18.7% |
| Median household income (not adjusted for prices)Census SAIPE | 1989 $16,718 | 2024 $49,848 |
| Share of income from benefit checksBEA | 1969 17.0% | 2024 43.7% |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices. We don't chart the distress score over time because it compares counties at one moment.
Dated events in Yalobusha County's history
Largest decennial census count
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 21,519. The 2020 Census counted 12,481, 58% of the peak. Census Bureau
1834
Official organization on February 21, 1834, authorized by Mississippi Legislature in 1833 on former Indian land. Wikipedia
1867
Yacona Mills established 1867 was world's largest manufacturer of twine. Wikipedia
1984
Tornado: $25 million in property damage, seven deaths. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
Lightning: one death. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1971
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Yalobusha County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
Storms are listed if they did $1 million or more in damage or killed someone.
Yalobusha County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Yalobusha County, two score higher. Of the group, Yalobusha County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (43.7%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panola County, MS | 97 | 20.7% | 34.2% |
| Grenada County, MS | 92 | 19.4% | 37.4% |
| Yalobusha County, MS | 88 | 18.7% | 43.7% |
| Calhoun County, MS | 83 | 18.6% | 39.8% |
| Tallahatchie County, MS | 83 | 32.3% | 38.0% |
| Lafayette County, MS | 55 | 17.9% | 19.0% |
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 Yalobusha County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Yalobusha County's poverty rate was 18.7% in 2024, 54th 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, Yalobusha County ranks 41st of 82 in the state.
Yalobusha County in photographs
Places in Yalobusha County from Wikimedia Commons, each captioned in its photographer's own words.
Yalobusha County Courthouse, Coffeeville, Mississippi.
Yalobusha County, Mississippi.
Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki (thomas@machnitzki.com) via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
Yalobusha County, Mississippi: common questions
What is the poverty rate in Yalobusha County, Mississippi?
18.7% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: about one in five people. Among children it was 28.1%.
Is Yalobusha County the poorest county in Mississippi?
No, Yalobusha County's poverty rate was 18.7% in 2024, 54th 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, Yalobusha County ranks 41st of 82 in the state.
What is the population of Yalobusha County, Mississippi?
About 12,458 people in 2024, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis's count. The 2020 Census counted 12,481, 58% of the county's peak of 21,519 in 1910.
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
We rank every U.S. county on 14 federal measures of money trouble, grouped into five equally weighted parts, and average them. The published score is the share of the other 3,143 counties with a lower average. The methodology lists every measure and its source.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Yalobusha County
A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved housing counselor works at a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 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 BureauSourceCFPB.
-
Mississippi Center for Legal Services
Legal aid
-
North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Legal aid
-
HUD-approved housing counselors
Counseling to avoid foreclosure is free. Our help directory lists 1,313 approved agencies 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 Yalobusha 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 Yalobusha County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.