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PantryPath Research · WIC Coverage Atlas

WIC in Mississippi

48.4% coverage

Mississippi's WIC program reaches 48.4% of eligible residents — an estimated 59,000 participants out of 122,000 who qualify. That leaves 63,000 pregnant women, infants, and young children eligible but not receiving WIC's food package or nutrition counseling.

122K

WIC eligibles

59K

Participants (FY2024 avg)

63K

Unserved eligibles

82

Counties

Mississippi by county

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Toggle between estimated WIC eligibles, unserved gap, low-income child counts, and child-poverty share. Hover a county for its exact value.

Note: USDA does not publish sub-state WIC participation, so every county in Mississippi inherits the state's 48.4% coverage rate. County-level eligibles are allocated from state totals in proportion to the county's share of low-income children under 6 (ACS B17024). See methodology.

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Mississippi at a glance

Coverage rate

48.4%

Participants ÷ eligibles

Participation gap

51.6%

1 − coverage

Eligibles

122K

USDA FNS FY2022

Participants

59K

Monthly avg FY2024

Unserved

63K

Eligibles − participants

Kids < 6 low-income

104K

50.0% of universe

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 82 counties in Mississippi.

Most WIC eligibles

Estimated eligible population

  1. 1 Hinds 11K
  2. 2 Harrison 8K
  3. 3 Jackson 5K
  4. 4 DeSoto 5K
  5. 5 Forrest 4K

Largest unserved gap

Eligibles not receiving WIC

  1. 1 Hinds 5K
  2. 2 Harrison 4K
  3. 3 Jackson 3K
  4. 4 DeSoto 2K
  5. 5 Forrest 2K

Highest child-poverty share

Children < 6 at ≤185% FPL

  1. 1 Kemper 95.7%
  2. 2 Sharkey 90.8%
  3. 3 Tunica 87.9%
  4. 4 Humphreys 87.2%
  5. 5 Quitman 82.8%

Every county in Mississippi

All 82 counties with WIC eligibility estimates, unserved gap, and ACS child-poverty context.

County Eligibles est. Participants est. Unserved est. Kids < 6 low-income Poverty share
Adams 1,371 663 708 1,165 60.8%
Alcorn 892 431 461 758 38.6%
Amite 428 207 221 364 48.3%
Attala 921 445 476 783 60.2%
Benton 266 129 137 226 52.2%
Bolivar 1,774 858 916 1,508 70.4%
Calhoun 544 263 281 462 54.9%
Carroll 340 164 176 289 54.9%
Chickasaw 1,112 538 574 945 67.8%
Choctaw 208 101 107 177 34.8%
Claiborne 400 193 207 340 60.9%
Clarke 506 245 261 430 41.9%
Clay 1,072 518 554 911 66.2%
Coahoma 1,601 774 827 1,361 79.3%
Copiah 1,436 695 741 1,221 61.0%
Covington 799 386 413 679 50.6%
DeSoto 4,690 2,268 2,422 3,987 29.9%
Forrest 4,192 2,027 2,165 3,563 62.3%
Franklin 304 147 157 258 54.5%
George 798 386 412 678 30.9%
Greene 325 157 168 276 30.7%
Grenada 1,113 538 575 946 56.9%
Hancock 1,134 548 586 964 39.5%
Harrison 8,274 4,001 4,273 7,033 46.3%
Hinds 10,536 5,095 5,441 8,956 54.6%
Holmes 966 467 499 821 70.6%
Humphreys 491 237 254 417 87.2%
Issaquena 0 0 0 0 —
Itawamba 385 186 199 327 23.3%
Jackson 5,339 2,582 2,757 4,538 47.3%
Jasper 892 431 461 758 68.5%
Jefferson 379 183 196 322 78.5%
Jefferson Davis 639 309 330 543 72.1%
Jones 2,955 1,429 1,526 2,512 46.8%
Kemper 651 315 336 553 95.7%
Lafayette 1,280 619 661 1,088 31.8%
Lamar 2,686 1,299 1,387 2,283 48.9%
Lauderdale 3,558 1,720 1,838 3,024 60.7%
Lawrence 847 410 437 720 77.4%
Leake 1,116 540 576 949 62.6%
Lee 2,999 1,450 1,549 2,549 40.7%
Leflore 1,788 865 923 1,520 69.3%
Lincoln 1,279 618 661 1,087 47.8%
Lowndes 2,656 1,285 1,371 2,258 48.8%
Madison 2,919 1,412 1,507 2,481 32.5%
Marion 1,115 539 576 948 61.3%
Marshall 1,671 808 863 1,420 58.8%
Monroe 1,246 602 644 1,059 51.7%
Montgomery 436 211 225 371 74.4%
Neshoba 2,075 1,004 1,071 1,764 74.4%
Newton 1,362 659 703 1,158 66.7%
Noxubee 689 333 356 586 68.9%
Oktibbeha 1,752 847 905 1,489 52.3%
Panola 1,922 930 992 1,634 62.5%
Pearl River 1,929 933 996 1,640 44.4%
Perry 379 183 196 322 60.1%
Pike 2,069 1,001 1,068 1,759 56.0%
Pontotoc 1,556 753 803 1,323 49.1%
Prentiss 938 453 485 797 38.8%
Quitman 418 202 216 355 82.8%
Rankin 3,706 1,792 1,914 3,150 31.8%
Scott 1,859 899 960 1,580 61.7%
Sharkey 266 129 137 226 90.8%
Simpson 888 430 458 755 46.9%
Smith 600 290 310 510 50.6%
Stone 353 171 182 300 25.5%
Sunflower 1,227 593 634 1,043 63.6%
Tallahatchie 581 281 300 494 72.5%
Tate 1,026 496 530 872 43.5%
Tippah 813 393 420 691 45.0%
Tishomingo 660 319 341 561 45.3%
Tunica 1,000 484 516 850 87.9%
Union 709 343 366 603 30.4%
Walthall 569 275 294 484 55.6%
Warren 1,941 939 1,002 1,650 50.5%
Washington 2,614 1,264 1,350 2,222 66.8%
Wayne 1,152 557 595 979 67.2%
Webster 304 147 157 258 34.4%
Wilkinson 331 160 171 281 67.2%
Winston 1,107 535 572 941 76.1%
Yalobusha 653 316 337 555 60.5%
Yazoo 1,227 593 634 1,043 60.5%

Apply for WIC in Mississippi

Income limits, food-package rules, clinic locator, and application instructions specific to Mississippi's WIC agency.

Mississippi WIC guide

Families with children

Our population-specific guide: WIC, SNAP, school meals, Summer EBT, and pantry programs for families with kids in Mississippi.

Families guide

Mississippi SNAP

SNAP recipients are automatically income-eligible for WIC through adjunctive eligibility — often the fastest path to enrollment.

Mississippi SNAP guide

Find a food pantry

Search Mississippi's verified pantries — many partner with WIC clinics and distribute infant formula, baby food, and diapers.

Mississippi food pantries

WIC methodology

How we estimated county-level eligibles, why state coverage rates can't be disaggregated, and which data sources we used.

Full methodology