Poorest Cities In Mississippi For 2021


We used science and data to determine which places in Mississippi are basically dead broke.

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Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2021. This is our seventh time ranking the poorest places in Mississippi.

Mississippi brings to mind images of Jackson, beautiful landscapes, and some of the best people you'll find in the good ole US of A.

However, like all states, Mississippi has certain places that are going on hard times. These places have an above average percent of people that are living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.

With all the talk about income inequality going on around the country, we thought it prudent to take a look at the places in each state that are struggling to make it even as the economy continues to improve. So we set our sites on bringing attention to the places in Mississippi that could use a helping hand.

To do so, we analyzed the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 63 places in Mississippi with more than 5,000 people.

Here are the ten poorest places in Mississippi for 2021:

  1. Yazoo City
  2. Greenville
  3. Kosciusko
  4. Clarksdale
  5. Natchez
  6. Picayune
  7. Indianola
  8. Holly Springs
  9. Forest
  10. Philadelphia

Again, this isn't a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it's just a look at the facts.

What's the poorst city in Mississippi? According to the facts, Yazoo City is the poorest place in Mississippi for 2021.

Rich people more your cup of tea? Feel free to check out the best places in Mississippi or the most dangerous.

For more on how we calculated the top ten, and for more information about these places, read on.

If you're looking for something more national, check out the poorest states in America or the poorest cities in America.

For more Mississippi reading, check out:

The 10 Poorest Cities In Mississippi For 2021

1. Yazoo City

Yazoo City, MS

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 11,063
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $24,688 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 20.5% (highest)
Poverty Rate: 44.8% (2nd highest)
More on Yazoo City:  Data | Photos

Yazoo City, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Mississippi thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.

The city of 11,063 people averages the lowest median household income in Mississippi and the 2nd highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.

2. Greenville

Greenville, MS

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 30,588
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 2)
Median Income: $27,025 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 14.1% (5th highest)
Poverty Rate: 37.3% (3rd highest)
More on Greenville:  Data | Photos

The second poorest city in Mississippi is Greenville.

The city ranks as having the 3rd highest incidence of poverty and 6th lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate 'only' ranks as the 5th highest in the Magnolia State.

3. Kosciusko

Kosciusko, MS

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 6,855
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $26,632 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 13.5% (7th highest)
Poverty Rate: 36.0% (5th highest)
More on Kosciusko:  Data | Photos

Placing as the third poorest city, Kosciusko's median income ranks as the 3rd lowest.

And that's a sign that there's a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 36.01830663615561% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.

But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Magnolia State.

4. Clarksdale

Clarksdale, MS

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 15,734
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $30,223 (12th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 14.9% (3rd highest)
Poverty Rate: 35.7% (7th highest)
More on Clarksdale:  Data | Photos

Clarksdale ranks as the fourth poorest place in Mississippi.

The town ranks as having the 12th lowest median household income and the 7th highest incidence of poverty in the state.

That being said, there's still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.

5. Natchez

Natchez, MS

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 14,981
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Income: $26,443 (2nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 11.2% (14th highest)
Poverty Rate: 34.5% (8th highest)
More on Natchez:  Data | Photos

The fifth poorest city in Mississippi is Natchez.

The city ranks as having the 2nd lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 8th highest in Mississippi.

Still not the best news for Natchez.

6. Picayune

Picayune, MS

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 11,040
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 6)
Median Income: $30,006 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 13.8% (6th highest)
Poverty Rate: 33.3% (10th highest)
More on Picayune:  Data | Photos

Picayune ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Magnolia State.

It ranks as having the 10th highest incidence of poverty and the 6th highest unemployment rate.

7. Indianola

Indianola, MS

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 9,450
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Median Income: $28,941 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 14.9% (4th highest)
Poverty Rate: 29.8% (20th highest)
More on Indianola:  Data | Photos

Indianola places as the seventh poorest city in Mississippi.

The city of over 9,450 ranks as having the 20th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.

8. Holly Springs

Holly Springs, MS

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 7,737
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 2)
Median Income: $27,190 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 11.2% (13th highest)
Poverty Rate: 31.9% (13th highest)
More on Holly Springs:  Data | Photos

Holly Springs ranks as the eighth poorest city in Mississippi.

The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as the 13th highest in the state.

9. Forest

Forest, MS

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,629
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 6)
Median Income: $27,165 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.9% (18th highest)
Poverty Rate: 32.9% (11th highest)
More on Forest:  Data | Photos

Forest couldn't stay out of the top ten poorest places in Mississippi; it ranks number 9.

While the median income is the 7th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Forest ranks as having the 11th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Mississippi.

10. Philadelphia

Philadelphia, MS

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,218
Rank Last Year: 17 (Up 7)
Median Income: $32,818 (19th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 16.3% (2nd highest)
Poverty Rate: 31.0% (15th highest)
More on Philadelphia:  Data | Photos

And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Mississippi is Philadelphia.

The city of 7,218 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Magnolia State.

How We Determined The Poorest Places In Mississippi for 2021

The first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.

However, we don't think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the "poorest places". So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2015-2019 American Community Survey:

  • Poverty Level
  • Median Household Income adjusted for the cost of living
  • Unemployment Rate

The "median household income adjusted for the cost of living" attempts to gauge how expensive it is to live in a place and how that impacts the quality of life. For example, a town might have fewer people living below the official poverty line, but the cost of living is so high they'd still feel poor.

The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for improvement in the city or town. If more people are employed, the brighter the future looks and vice versa.

After we collected the data for all 63 places with more than 5,000 people in Mississippi, we ranked each place from 1 to 63 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.

We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a "Poor Score" with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Yazoo City, crowned the "Poorest Place In Mississippi For 2021". You can download the data here.

There You Have It - The Poorest Places In Mississippi For 2021

Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Mississippi, we weren't sure what we'd encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Mississippi.

When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.

If you're curious enough, here are the richest cities in Mississippi, according to data:

    Richest: Madison
    2nd Richest: Brandon
    3rd Richest: Byram

For more Mississippi reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Mississippi

Rank City Population Poverty Rate
1 Yazoo City 11,063 44.8%
2 Greenville 30,588 37.3%
3 Kosciusko 6,855 36.0%
4 Clarksdale 15,734 35.7%
5 Natchez 14,981 34.5%
6 Picayune 11,040 33.3%
7 Indianola 9,450 29.8%
8 Holly Springs 7,737 31.9%
9 Forest 5,629 32.9%
10 Philadelphia 7,218 31.0%
11 Louisville 6,124 33.5%
12 West Point 10,626 30.6%
13 Greenwood 14,040 36.6%
14 Hattiesburg 46,098 32.5%
15 Laurel 18,508 31.3%
16 Columbus 24,083 28.1%
17 Vicksburg 22,332 30.7%
18 Brookhaven 12,115 26.2%
19 Mccomb 12,725 48.8%
20 Gulfport 71,676 26.3%
21 Columbia 5,992 35.9%
22 Grenada 12,475 28.2%
23 Pascagoula 21,809 25.7%
24 Jackson 166,383 25.4%
25 Meridian 37,848 27.1%
26 Starkville 25,387 29.9%
27 Pass Christian 5,877 24.2%
28 Booneville 8,637 26.5%
29 Corinth 14,562 17.5%
30 Moss Point 13,451 22.2%
31 Cleveland 11,627 27.7%
32 Amory 6,932 21.2%
33 Bay St. Louis 13,018 22.0%
34 Oxford 26,962 30.2%
35 Waveland 6,336 14.8%
36 Canton 12,222 25.5%
37 Gautier 18,496 16.1%
38 D'iberville 13,673 16.1%
39 Biloxi 45,906 19.4%
40 Horn Lake 27,080 16.9%
41 Senatobia 7,840 18.9%
42 Aberdeen 5,326 18.2%
43 Ripley 5,290 22.0%
44 Long Beach 15,698 14.1%
45 Tupelo 38,271 15.6%
46 Pearl 26,461 10.1%
47 New Albany 8,705 13.7%
48 Richland 7,175 13.3%
49 Petal 10,584 12.6%
50 Pontotoc 6,015 15.8%
51 Ocean Springs 17,729 10.2%
52 Batesville 7,245 16.7%
53 Flowood 9,030 13.0%
54 Southaven 54,152 10.4%
55 Diamondhead 8,103 6.8%
56 Ridgeland 24,269 8.3%
57 Clinton 25,131 12.6%
58 Saltillo 5,009 8.3%
59 Olive Branch 37,461 6.9%
60 Hernando 15,942 5.8%
61 Byram 11,578 5.7%
62 Brandon 23,930 3.5%
63 Madison 25,592 3.3%

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