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. 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 91.6. 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 looks at five parts of household money trouble in Yalobusha 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.
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, average over the latest year (3.5%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.0% · August 202591st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind13.8% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score54.4% · second quarter of 202688th percentile
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- 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 · 2025top 5%
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- 83.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.7% · 202482nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.1% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability20.1% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- People without health insurance11.5% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,848 · 202491st percentile
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- 60.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202632nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.7% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
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- 43.6 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 rent13.8% · 2020 to 202425th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.8% · fiscal year 202761st 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 Yalobusha 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 Yalobusha County, 21.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Yalobusha County
Mississippi
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Yalobusha County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 43.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Yalobusha County, Mississippi, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 43.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Yalobusha County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 22.9% in 2009 to 20.2% in 2010.
The share of households in Yalobusha County getting SNAP food aid fell by about half from 2009 to 2024, reaching 11.8%, with its low point on the chart in 2023
Low on the chart: 10.1% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Yalobusha County, Mississippi.
How Yalobusha County has changed
Yalobusha County's population fell most sharply on the way to its 1989 low, from 12,886 in 1984 to 12,011 in 1989.
Yalobusha County's population rose 4% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 13,109 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Yalobusha County, Mississippi.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Yalobusha County fell by about a quarter to 2,634, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2000 and 2005
High on the chart: 3,581 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Yalobusha County, Mississippi.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.1% | 2025 3.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.4% | 2024 18.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,718 | 2024 $49,848 |
The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 3.5% 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 Yalobusha County's history
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
1910
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
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $25 million in property damage and killed seven people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
Lightning in August 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1971
20 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Yalobusha County, 5 of them for flooding. FEMA
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 | 96 | 20.7% | 34.2% |
| Grenada County, MS | 92 | 19.4% | 37.4% |
| Yalobusha County, MS | 88 | 18.7% | 43.7% |
| Tallahatchie County, MS | 83 | 32.3% | 38.0% |
| Calhoun County, MS | 83 | 18.6% | 39.8% |
| 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 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 40th of 82 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Yalobusha 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 Yalobusha 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 Yalobusha County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.