#80 Mississippi · 2026

Rankin County, Mississippi

49 · moderate-low county distress more distressed than 49% of U.S. counties · 80th of 82 counties in Mississippi · 160,417 residents How this is calculated →
The headline number
8% Rankin residents
vs.
5% U.S. median

Above the national median for auto loan delinquency.

Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)

Main Findings

Wire lede · 45 words · paste-ready

Rankin County, Mississippi is more distressed than 49% of U.S. counties on the County Distress Index. The driver: 8% of auto loan accounts are 60+ days past due — above the national median of 5%. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency and its lowest is Labor.

Key Findings
  • 80th of 82 counties in Mississippi on the County Distress Index — 49 · moderate-low county distress, more distressed than 49% of U.S. counties.
  • 8% of auto loan accounts are 60+ days past due (U.S. median 5%). Auto loan delinquency at the 81st percentile nationally. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
  • Bankruptcy filing rate at 365 — national median 126, ranked at the 95th percentile. Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025).
  • Severe rent burden (50%+) at 27% — national median 18%, ranked at the 91st percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024).
  • Uninsured rate at 8% — national median 8%, ranked at the 53rd percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024).
Distinctive Signals
Boundary Signal

Neighbors span four CDI score labels. The 58-point drop to Madison County marks where the Mississippi distress corridor ends.

County Distress Index cluster map. Rankin County, Mississippi and its neighbors colored by county distress score label.
Rankin and its 5 geographic neighbors, graded by County Distress Index score. Rankin County is more distressed than 49% of U.S. counties. American Default Research
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Rankin County has a moderate-low county distress score. The state rank and domain mix give the county-level context.

— American Default Research
Index note — for feature use 30 words

The CDI gives this county a moderate-low county distress label. The state rank and highest-scoring local domain add context that the composite alone cannot carry. Its highest-scoring domain is Delinquency.

— American Default Research

Indicator History

Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.

Updated Sep 22, 2026
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 1990 to 2025

Unemployment rate

2.8% -1.5 percentage points since 1990
Census 1989 to 2024

Poverty rate

8.9% -1.9 percentage points since 1989
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis 1969 to 2024

Transfer income share

19.7% +13.9 percentage points since 1969
Equifax data retrieved via FRED 2014 Q2 to 2025 Q4

Subprime credit population

30.6% -4.05 percentage points since 2014 Q2

The Indicators Behind Rankin County's CDI Score

Every number traces to a public source. Rankin County's value shown alongside MS's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.

How to read the table. A domain score is a 0–100 composite of the indicators in that domain; higher values represent a higher mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles. A county's domain rank is computed separately against all counties. Percentile is Rankin County's national rank among all 3,144 U.S. counties for that indicator, always oriented so higher = more distressed.
Indicator Rankin MS median U.S. median Pctile Source
Delinquency — domain score 76 · Rank 644 of 3,144
Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due 8% 10% 5% 81st Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due 7% 9% 5% 71st Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 31% 38% 23% 77th Equifax data retrieved via FRED (2025)
Default & Legal — domain score 73 · Rank 653 of 3,144
Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections 23% 31% 23% 51st Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents 365 314 126 95th Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025)
Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 58 · Rank 1,131 of 3,144
Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income 18% 22% 21% 25th U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents (FY2027); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024)
Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent 27% 19% 18% 91st U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024)
Labor — domain score 14 · Rank 2,844 of 3,144
Adults 25-54 not working Share of adults aged 25 to 54 without a job, leaving out residents of prisons and other institutions (service members count as working) 16% 27% 21% 22nd U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024)
Unemployment (average of monthly rates) Share of labor force unemployed, averaged over the monthly rates published for September 2025 to August 2026 (no figures published for October 2025) 3% 4% 4% 6th U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (monthly rates averaged, September 2025 to August 2026; no figures published for October 2025)
Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 29 · Rank 2,413 of 3,144
Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line 11% 28% 17% 18th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024)
Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability 16% 20% 16% 46th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024)
Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line 9% 20% 13% 14th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024)
Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage 8% 11% 8% 53rd U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024)
Compiled September 30, 2026 from Urban Institute Debt in America (2025 panel), U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-yr 2024, SAIPE 2024, Business Formation Statistics 2025), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS August 2026, QCEW 2025), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings 2025), and HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2027).

Five-Domain Breakdown

The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.

Delinquency Primary driver 76
Weight 20% · Rank 644 of 3,144
Default & Legal 73
Weight 20% · Rank 653 of 3,144
Debt Burden (housing basis) 58
Weight 20% · Rank 1,131 of 3,144
Safety Net & Buffer 29
Weight 20% · Rank 2,413 of 3,144
Labor 14
Weight 20% · Rank 2,844 of 3,144

Methodology

The County Distress Index scores household financial distress from 0 to 100 for all 3,144 U.S. counties. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the five domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every other county to give the score.

Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), Equifax data retrieved via FRED (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2024 to 2027 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.

For Press & Research

Everything you need to cite Rankin County data.

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Press contact: Ross Kilburn · press@americandefault.org · (307) 264-2992 · media inquiries welcome
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BRANDON, Miss. — Rankin County is more distressed than 49% of U.S. counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.

Rankin scores 49 out of 100, which means it is more distressed than 49% of U.S. counties; its score label is moderate-low county distress. Within Mississippi, Rankin ranks 80th of 82 counties.

The index, which draws on 14 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, identifies delinquency as the primary driver in Rankin. 8% of auto loan accounts are 60+ days past due — above the national median of 5%.

American Default Research founder Ross Kilburn is available for interview at press@americandefault.org.

Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.

— 30 —

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Rankin County's CDI score, and what does it mean?

Rankin County scores 49 out of 100 on the County Distress Index, which means it is more distressed than 49% of U.S. counties. Its score label is moderate-low county distress. It ranks 80th of 82 Mississippi counties. Higher county scores indicate more distress.

What drives Rankin County's distress score?

The highest-scoring domain is Delinquency, at a domain score of 76. Auto loan delinquency ranks at the 81st percentile nationally.

How does Rankin County compare to its neighbors?

Rankin County's neighbors span 4 CDI score labels. Highest-distress neighbor: Hinds County (98.00, extreme county distress). Lowest: Madison County (40.00, moderate-low county distress).

How is the County Distress Index calculated?

The CDI averages 14 source indicators across five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer, then ranks that average against every other county, so the score is the share of U.S. counties a county is more distressed than. Data comes from Urban Institute, Census Bureau, BLS, U.S. Courts, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and related public sources. Full methodology →
Ross Kilburn
Written by

Ross Kilburn, Founder

Founder · American Default Research · Seattle, Washington

Ross Kilburn is the former COO of Ark Law Group, a foreclosure defense firm serving five states. He founded Seattle Short Sales, wrote Short Sale Your Home, and worked as a mortgage loan originator and real estate agent. He founded American Default Research in 2026.

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