In 2023, 18 percent of Mississippi's population lived below the poverty line. This figure decreased slightly from the previous year. Since 2000, the poverty rate in Mississippi has been relatively high, and peaked in 2012, at 24.2 percent. The poverty rate of the United States can be found here.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Madison County, MS (S1701ACS028089) from 2012 to 2023 about Madison County, MS; Jackson; MS; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

In Mississippi, the poverty rate is 19.1% and the uninsured rate is 11.6%. Percent of people below the federal poverty line and the share without health insurance. Source: ACS 5-year estimates (derived).

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Chickasaw County, MS (S1701ACS028017) from 2012 to 2023 about Chickasaw County, MS; MS; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Mississippi County, AR was 21.00% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Mississippi County, AR reached a record high of 26.80 in January of 2015 and a record low of 21.00 in January of 2023. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Mississippi County, AR - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on October of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Tunica County, MS (S1701ACS028143) from 2012 to 2023 about Tunica County, MS; Memphis; MS; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Calhoun County, MS (S1701ACS028013) from 2012 to 2023 about Calhoun County, MS; MS; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

In 2024, Louisiana had the highest poverty rate among U.S. states at ** percent. It was followed by Mississippi and Alabama. The state with the lowest poverty rate was New Hampshire at *** percent. The overall poverty rate of the United States stood at around **** percent that year.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Mississippi County, AR (S1701ACS005093) from 2012 to 2023 about Mississippi County, AR; AR; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Lafayette County, MS (S1701ACS028071) from 2012 to 2023 about Lafayette County, MS; MS; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

In 2024, approximately 23 percent of the households in the United States lived in energy poverty. The U.S. state with the highest energy poverty rate was Mississippi, where 30 percent of the resident families were unable to pay the energy bill. U.S. families who struggle to maintain a safe temperature in the house can apply for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which aided around six million households in the country in 2023.

Over 38 million Americans experienced food insecurity in 2020 and a disproportionate number of those people, over 21 percent, were Black Americans (USDA, 2021). While Black people across the country experienced food insecurity at disproportionately high rates, the Deep South’s prevalence of food insecurity continues to outpace much of the rest of America with three of the top five food insecure states (Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas) comprising the Mississippi Delta (Henchy & Jacobs, 2020). There is a paradox at play in the Mississippi Delta region regarding its role as one of the top agricultural producers in the country but simultaneously home to some of the food insecure communities as well. Food insecurity is associated with a number of poor health outcomes including, but not limited to, decreased cognitive performance in children, increased anxiety, and depression in non-senior adults, as well as higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, and general increased rates of poor health (Gundersen, 2015). Black households in the Mississippi Delta experience a series of social determinants that contribute to the high prevalence of food insecurity in the region including poverty, racial residential segregation, social isolation, and lack of access to nutritious foods. Food Insecurity and its complexity of confounding factors leave researchers with a significant task to find leverage points at which community leaders, policy makers and other actors in the socioecological framework might reduce food insecurity in places with high food insecurity like the Mississippi Delta. This report recommends addressing food insecurity in the Delta through improving the local structure of information flows by offering education programs to boost enrollment in social welfare programs underutilized in the region.

Between 2020 and 2022, **** percent of Mississippi residents aged 65 and over lived below the poverty line while receiving Social Security benefits. Without those benefits, an estimated **** percent of those 65 and over would be living below the poverty line. Across the United States, without Social Security benefits, ** percent of all individuals in the U.S. aged 65 and over would live below the poverty line, but that number is reduced to *** percent with the added help of Social Security.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Grenada County, MS (S1701ACS028043) from 2012 to 2023 about Grenada County, MS; MS; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Winston County, MS (S1701ACS028159) from 2012 to 2023 about Winston County, MS; MS; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

The U.S. Population Grids (Summary File 3), 2000: Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, Alpha Version data set contains an ARC/INFO Workspace with grids of demographic data from the year 2000 census. The grids have a resolution of 30 arc-seconds (0.0083 decimal degrees), or approximately 1 square km. The gridded variables are based on census block geography from Census 2000 TIGER/Line Files and census variables (income, poverty, education, housing age). This data set is produced by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).

In 2024, the median household income in the United States was 83,730 U.S. dollars. This reflected an increase from the previous year. Household income The median household income depicts the income of households, including the income of the householder and all other individuals aged 15 years or over living in the household. Income includes wages and salaries, unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support payments received, regular rental receipts, as well as any personal business, investment, or other kinds of income received routinely. The median household income in the United States varied from state to state. In 2024, Massachusetts recorded the highest median household income in the country, at 113,900 U.S. dollars. On the other hand, Mississippi, recorded the lowest, at 55,980 U.S. dollars.Household income is also used to determine the poverty rate in the United States. In 2024, 10.6 percent of the U.S. population was living below the national poverty line. This was the lowest level since 2019. Similarly, the child poverty rate, which represents people under the age of 18 living in poverty, reached a three-decade low of 14.3 percent of the children. The state with the widest gap between the rich and the poor was New York, with a Gini coefficient score of 0.52 in 2024. The Gini coefficient is calculated by looking at average income rates. A score of zero would reflect perfect income equality, while a score of one indicates complete inequality.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Holmes County, MS (S1701ACS028051) from 2012 to 2023 about Holmes County, MS; MS; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Union County, MS (S1701ACS028145) from 2012 to 2023 about Union County, MS; MS; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Population Below the Poverty Level (5-year estimate) in Franklin County, MS (S1701ACS028037) from 2012 to 2023 about Franklin County, MS; MS; poverty; percent; 5-year; population; and USA.