The 10 Poorest Cities In Mississippi For 2026

The 10 Poorest Cities In Mississippi For 2026

1. Yazoo City

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 10,219 people averages the lowest median household income in Mississippi and the 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. Clarksdale

The second poorest city in Mississippi is Clarksdale.

The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and 3rd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 5th highest in the Magnolia State.

3. Meridian

Placing as the third poorest city, Meridian’s median income ranks as the 4th 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 34.29% 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. Louisville

Louisville ranks as the fourth poorest place in Mississippi.

The town ranks as having the 7th lowest median household income and the 3rd 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

The fifth poorest city in Mississippi is Natchez.

The city ranks as having the 6th 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 6th highest in Mississippi.

Still not the best news for Natchez.

6. Greenwood

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

It ranks as having the 13th highest incidence of poverty and the 16th highest unemployment rate.

7. Canton

Canton places as the seventh poorest city in Mississippi.

The city of over 10,811 ranks as having the 7th 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. Brookhaven

Brookhaven ranks as the eighth poorest city in Mississippi.

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

9. Indianola

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

While the median income is the 15th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Indianola ranks as having the 10th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Mississippi.

10. Starkville

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

The city of 25,721 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Magnolia State.