About one in four people in Mississippi County, Missouri, has a disability
In Mississippi County, 26.9% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 97% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 98% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mississippi County's score
In Mississippi County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 89.4. About two in five people with a credit file (39.9%, August 2025) have unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 94% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 88.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mississippi 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.
Mississippi 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.
- 89.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.9% · August 202594th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people245.3 · 202584th percentile
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- 88.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.0% · 202489th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.8% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability26.9% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance10.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$44,755 · 2024top 5%
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- 87.9 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 rent25.9% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income25.8% · fiscal year 202786th percentile
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- 83.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.1% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score57.0% · second quarter of 202692nd percentile
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- 81.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202689th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.1% · 2020 to 202474th 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi County, 18.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mississippi County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Mississippi County had its largest rise, from 21.2% in 1989 to 28.1% in 1994.
In Mississippi County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 16% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Mississippi County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 40.7%; 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 Mississippi County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a fifth to 27.3%, the lowest on the chart, with most of the change between 2023 and 2024
High on the chart: 34.7% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Mississippi County, Missouri.
How Mississippi County has changed
Mississippi County's population fell by about a third to 11,750, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2019 to 2024, reaching 11,750. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mississippi County, Missouri.
The number of jobs located in Mississippi County had its largest drop, from 4,001 in 2015 to 3,423 in 2020.
The number of jobs located in Mississippi County fell 28% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 4,158 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mississippi County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.2% | 2025 6.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 28.7% | 2024 21.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,879 | 2024 $44,755 |
The table uses 6.1% for 2025; the score uses 5.6% 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 Mississippi County's history
1845
Officially organized on February 14, 1845. Wikipedia
1900
Virgin forests attracted timber barons at the turn of the 20th century. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 23,149. The 2020 Census counted 12,577, 54% of the peak. Census Bureau
1981
A tornado in April 1981 did $25 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flash flood in May 2011 did $150 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mississippi County, 18 of them for flooding. FEMA
Mississippi County beside its neighbors
Mississippi County scores higher than all seven counties that border it, in Missouri, Kentucky and Illinois. For the share of income from benefit checks, Mississippi County ranks 3rd of the eight; Alexander County is highest, at 53.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi County, MO | 98 | 21.0% | 40.7% |
| Fulton County, KY | 96 | 23.9% | 47.0% |
| New Madrid County, MO | 91 | 19.1% | 32.5% |
| Alexander County, IL | 89 | 24.8% | 53.2% |
| Scott County, MO | 65 | 13.5% | 32.5% |
| Ballard County, KY | 64 | 15.9% | 29.1% |
| Hickman County, KY | 59 | 18.9% | 35.3% |
| Carlisle County, KY | 54 | 13.9% | 26.1% |
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 Mississippi County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Mississippi County's poverty rate was 21.0% in 2024, 7th highest of 115 in Missouri (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Dunklin County, at 25.4%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Mississippi County ranks 2nd of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mississippi 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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Legal Services of Southern Missouri
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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.