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PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas

Rural poverty in Mississippi

44 persistent-poverty counties

Mississippi has 44 persistent-poverty counties and 62 nonmetro counties — home to 992,269 residents living in counties with 30+ years of 20%-or-higher poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 19.1% and child poverty is 26.4%.

44

Persistent-poverty counties

62

Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)

992K

Residents in PPCs

82

Total counties

Mississippi by county

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Toggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.

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Mississippi at a glance

Poverty rate

19.1%

All ages, ACS S1701

Child poverty

26.4%

Under 18

PPC share

53.7%

Of counties in state

Nonmetro share

75.6%

RUCC 4–9

Pantries / 100K

0.85

PantryPath verified

Risk score (mean)

0.44

Composite 0–1

"Pantries / 100K" divides Mississippi's 25 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 82 in Mississippi.

Highest rural hunger risk

Composite 0–1 score

  1. 1 Winston 0.72
  2. 2 Jefferson 0.71
  3. 3 Tallahatchie 0.71
  4. 4 Montgomery 0.70
  5. 5 Noxubee 0.70

Highest poverty rate

ACS all-ages

  1. 1 Holmes 38.0%
  2. 2 Coahoma 36.3%
  3. 3 Tunica 33.8%
  4. 4 Bolivar 33.7%
  5. 5 Quitman 33.5%

Persistent-poverty counties

PPCs ranked by current poverty

  1. 1 Holmes 38.0%
  2. 2 Coahoma 36.3%
  3. 3 Tunica 33.8%
  4. 4 Bolivar 33.7%
  5. 5 Quitman 33.5%

Every county in Mississippi

All 82 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.

County RUCC PPC Flags Poverty Child poverty Population Risk
Adams 7 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss 28.2% 39.4% 29,098 0.64
Alcorn 7 — — 17.4% 19.6% 34,500 0.29
Amite 8 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss 27.0% 41.3% 12,611 0.67
Attala 6 Yes Pop. loss, Housing 20.7% 32.1% 17,685 0.57
Benton 1 — — 17.6% 31.8% 7,592 0.07
Bolivar 7 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss, Housing 33.7% 45.5% 30,163 0.66
Calhoun 9 — Pop. loss 18.7% 26.1% 13,029 0.37
Carroll 8 — Pop. loss 22.4% 30.9% 9,828 0.35
Chickasaw 9 Yes Low ed., Pop. loss, Housing 24.1% 31.5% 16,994 0.70
Choctaw 9 — Pop. loss 15.9% 21.9% 8,172 0.36
Claiborne 8 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss 27.2% 33.1% 8,908 0.67
Clarke 9 Yes Pop. loss 19.2% 22.4% 15,424 0.68
Clay 7 Yes Pop. loss 24.8% 32.9% 18,462 0.62
Coahoma 6 Yes Pop. loss, Housing 36.3% 48.4% 20,808 0.63
Copiah 2 Yes — 23.0% 38.4% 27,994 0.43
Covington 8 Yes — 17.7% 21.5% 18,226 0.63
DeSoto 1 — — 10.0% 14.1% 188,598 0.04
Forrest 3 Yes Housing 21.5% 26.8% 78,027 0.46
Franklin 9 Yes Pop. loss 23.3% 33.9% 7,655 0.69
George 8 — — 18.7% 24.7% 24,870 0.34
Greene 8 — Low emp., Low ed. 20.5% 28.3% 13,595 0.34
Grenada 7 Yes Pop. loss, Housing 22.3% 28.3% 21,342 0.61
Hancock 2 — Retire. 13.3% 19.6% 46,057 0.09
Harrison 2 — Housing 17.4% 23.8% 209,443 0.11
Hinds 2 — Pop. loss, Housing 21.6% 31.2% 222,494 0.12
Holmes 2 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss, Housing 38.0% 49.6% 16,491 0.49
Humphreys 8 Yes Pop. loss, Housing 26.4% 40.7% 7,570 0.67
Issaquena 9 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss, Housing 17.2% 1.7% 1,095 0.67
Itawamba 9 — — 10.8% 9.6% 23,942 0.34
Jackson 2 — — 14.1% 17.3% 144,437 0.09
Jasper 8 — Pop. loss 18.9% 29.5% 16,211 0.34
Jefferson 9 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss 28.5% 54.6% 7,127 0.71
Jefferson Davis 8 Yes Pop. loss, Housing 25.0% 49.8% 11,183 0.66
Jones 4 — — 20.8% 32.1% 66,839 0.20
Kemper 9 Yes Low emp. 24.6% 45.1% 8,855 0.70
Lafayette 4 Yes Retire. 18.7% 15.5% 56,920 0.49
Lamar 3 — — 16.1% 22.0% 65,081 0.14
Lauderdale 5 Yes Housing 25.1% 38.2% 71,984 0.55
Lawrence 8 — Pop. loss 23.8% 27.5% 11,883 0.36
Leake 8 Yes — 19.9% 29.3% 21,288 0.64
Lee 5 — — 13.8% 19.7% 83,138 0.21
Leflore 6 Yes Pop. loss, Housing 31.9% 45.0% 27,432 0.62
Lincoln 6 — — 21.3% 27.9% 34,830 0.27
Lowndes 5 — Pop. loss 16.9% 24.6% 58,187 0.22
Madison 2 — — 11.0% 16.1% 110,303 0.08
Marion 6 Yes — 20.4% 29.4% 24,303 0.57
Marshall 1 Yes — 22.8% 36.8% 33,899 0.39
Monroe 7 — Pop. loss 16.7% 18.2% 33,928 0.29
Montgomery 9 Yes Pop. loss 25.6% 36.9% 9,708 0.70
Neshoba 7 Yes — 25.1% 38.2% 28,927 0.63
Newton 8 — Pop. loss 22.0% 35.0% 21,151 0.35
Noxubee 9 Yes Pop. loss 25.6% 38.5% 10,136 0.70
Oktibbeha 5 Yes Housing 28.6% 20.7% 51,473 0.56
Panola 6 Yes — 24.1% 29.4% 32,965 0.58
Pearl River 6 — — 16.4% 19.8% 56,781 0.25
Perry 3 — — 18.1% 24.2% 11,459 0.15
Pike 6 Yes Housing 27.5% 38.9% 39,930 0.60
Pontotoc 9 — — 14.9% 20.5% 31,312 0.36
Prentiss 7 — Pop. loss 13.5% 10.8% 24,999 0.28
Quitman 8 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss 33.5% 52.7% 5,908 0.70
Rankin 2 — — 10.0% 13.6% 158,218 0.08
Scott 2 Yes Pop. loss 20.7% 30.4% 27,754 0.42
Sharkey 8 Yes Low ed., Pop. loss 31.8% 40.1% 3,848 0.69
Simpson 2 — Pop. loss 19.4% 25.6% 25,817 0.12
Smith 8 — — 19.3% 24.9% 14,193 0.34
Stone 2 — — 17.9% 25.9% 18,515 0.11
Sunflower 7 Yes Low emp., Pop. loss 29.9% 44.7% 25,328 0.64
Tallahatchie 9 Yes Low emp. 26.5% 45.6% 12,363 0.71
Tate 1 — Housing 16.8% 23.9% 28,135 0.07
Tippah 8 — — 18.9% 29.1% 21,621 0.34
Tishomingo 8 — — 19.9% 23.0% 18,738 0.34
Tunica 1 Yes Low ed., Housing 33.8% 57.7% 9,586 0.44
Union 7 — — 14.3% 19.9% 28,009 0.28
Walthall 9 Yes Housing 18.1% 14.4% 13,864 0.67
Warren 4 — Pop. loss 20.3% 32.9% 43,623 0.19
Washington 5 Yes Pop. loss, Housing 28.8% 42.3% 43,674 0.57
Wayne 9 — Pop. loss 22.9% 31.4% 19,699 0.39
Webster 9 — Pop. loss 15.1% 21.7% 9,942 0.36
Wilkinson 8 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss 28.2% 30.2% 8,376 0.68
Winston 9 Yes Pop. loss 30.4% 51.5% 17,609 0.72
Yalobusha 9 Yes Low ed., Pop. loss 22.7% 34.3% 12,439 0.69
Yazoo 2 Yes Low emp., Low ed., Pop. loss, Housing 31.4% 44.8% 26,837 0.46

Find a food pantry in Mississippi

Search Mississippi's 25 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.

Mississippi pantry directory

Mississippi SNAP

Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.

Mississippi SNAP guide

Emergency food help

National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.

Emergency food

Food deserts atlas

Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.

Mississippi food deserts

Methodology

How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.

Full methodology