Counties in Mississippi by poverty rate

Issaquena County had the highest poverty rate of 82 counties in 2018, at 40.5%. DeSoto County had the lowest, at 9%. The median was 21.7% and the figure for Mississippi was 19.8%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest40.5Issaquena County
Median21.782 counties
Mississippi19.8History

Top 40 counties, 2018

CSVChart (SVG)

Issaquena CountyIssaquena County: 40.5 %40.5Quitman CountyQuitman County: 37.6 %37.6Yazoo CountyYazoo County: 37.1 %37.1Humphreys CountyHumphreys County: 37 %37Claiborne CountyClaiborne County: 36.3 %36.3Coahoma CountyCoahoma County: 35.9 %35.9Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 35.5 %35.5Leflore CountyLeflore County: 35.1 %35.1Sharkey CountySharkey County: 33.6 %33.6Tallahatchie CountyTallahatchie County: 33.4 %33.4Holmes CountyHolmes County: 33.2 %33.2Sunflower CountySunflower County: 32.6 %32.6Washington CountyWashington County: 32.6 %32.6Pike CountyPike County: 30.6 %30.6Wilkinson CountyWilkinson County: 30.3 %30.3Adams CountyAdams County: 29.4 %29.4Bolivar CountyBolivar County: 29.4 %29.4Noxubee CountyNoxubee County: 29 %29Kemper CountyKemper County: 27.5 %27.5Oktibbeha CountyOktibbeha County: 27.3 %27.3Marion CountyMarion County: 27.2 %27.2Neshoba CountyNeshoba County: 26.9 %26.9Copiah CountyCopiah County: 26.5 %26.5Covington CountyCovington County: 26.5 %26.5Tunica CountyTunica County: 26.5 %26.5Jefferson Davis CountyJefferson Davis County: 26 %26Lauderdale CountyLauderdale County: 25.5 %25.5Scott CountyScott County: 25.5 %25.5Leake CountyLeake County: 25.4 %25.4Forrest CountyForrest County: 24 %24Attala CountyAttala County: 23.7 %23.7Walthall CountyWalthall County: 23.4 %23.4Lowndes CountyLowndes County: 23.1 %23.1Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 22.9 %22.9Greene CountyGreene County: 22.6 %22.6Grenada CountyGrenada County: 22.3 %22.3Amite CountyAmite County: 22.2 %22.2Benton CountyBenton County: 22.1 %22.1Perry CountyPerry County: 22 %22Clay CountyClay County: 21.9 %21.9
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018 (%)Change on 2017
1Issaquena County40.5+2.4 pts
2Quitman County37.6-3.3 pts
3Yazoo County37.1+3.2 pts
4Humphreys County37-1.4 pts
5Claiborne County36.3-6.3 pts
6Coahoma County35.9+1.1 pts
7Jefferson County35.5+1.4 pts
8Leflore County35.1-7.1 pts
9Sharkey County33.6-1.9 pts
10Tallahatchie County33.4-1.8 pts
11Holmes County33.2-7.6 pts
12Sunflower County32.6-3.6 pts
12Washington County32.6-0.1 pts
14Pike County30.6+2.6 pts
15Wilkinson County30.3-2.8 pts
16Adams County29.4-3.1 pts
16Bolivar County29.4-3 pts
18Noxubee County29-5.5 pts
19Kemper County27.5-2.3 pts
20Oktibbeha County27.3+1.8 pts
21Marion County27.2+2.5 pts
22Neshoba County26.9+4.5 pts
23Copiah County26.5+4 pts
23Covington County26.5+3.5 pts
23Tunica County26.5-2.6 pts
26Jefferson Davis County26-2.7 pts
27Lauderdale County25.5+5 pts
27Scott County25.5+3.6 pts
29Leake County25.4+3.7 pts
30Forrest County24+1.3 pts
31Attala County23.7-0.4 pts
32Walthall County23.4-2.7 pts
33Lowndes County23.1+0.9 pts
34Montgomery County22.9-0.3 pts
35Greene County22.6+0.9 pts
36Grenada County22.3+1.9 pts
37Amite County22.2-1.1 pts
38Benton County22.1+0.3 pts
39Perry County22+1.5 pts
40Clay County21.9-3.5 pts
41Panola County21.8-0.9 pts
42Clarke County21.6+0.8 pts
43Wayne County21.4-1.6 pts
44Calhoun County21.3-0.5 pts
45Newton County21.2+0.8 pts
46Winston County21-1.5 pts
47Marshall County20.9-1.9 pts
48Choctaw County20.4-1.7 pts
49Chickasaw County20.3+2.1 pts
50Franklin County20.1-0.5 pts
50Stone County20.1+3.8 pts
52Harrison County20+0.3 pts
53Jones County19.9-1.4 pts
54Prentiss County19.8+2.1 pts
54Simpson County19.8-3.2 pts
56Hinds County19.4-0.8 pts
57Warren County19.2-2.2 pts
58Lincoln County19.1+0.9 pts
59Jasper County19-4.8 pts
60Lawrence County18.7-1 pts
61Alcorn County18.2-0.9 pts
62Pearl River County18.1+0.9 pts
62Webster County18.1-4.9 pts
62Yalobusha County18.1-3.2 pts
65Lafayette County18-3.1 pts
66Carroll County17.9+0.3 pts
66Jackson County17.9+3.4 pts
68Tate County17.6+1.1 pts
69Hancock County17.5+0.5 pts
70Tippah County16.9-1 pts
71Smith County16.8+0.5 pts
72Pontotoc County16.5+1.9 pts
73Monroe County16.4-1.8 pts
74George County16.1+0.1 pts
75Tishomingo County15.2-2.7 pts
76Lamar County14-1.5 pts
77Itawamba County13.7-0.8 pts
78Union County13.4-1.1 pts
79Lee County13.1-0.9 pts
80Rankin County9.6+0.3 pts
81Madison County9.4-1.3 pts
82DeSoto County9+0.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People living in families or alone with income below the official US poverty thresholds, as a percentage of people whose poverty status can be determined. United States: Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), all ages.

Absolute thresholds set by the US government, so not comparable with the EU at_risk_of_poverty_rate.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2018/2018-state-and-county/est18all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Mississippi by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"Mississippi","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=Mississippi&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Issaquena County, with 40.5% in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

DeSoto County, with 9% in 2018.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Poverty rate (US official measure): other rankings

Counties in Mississippi: more rankings