County food-access profile · Mississippi
Jackson County, MS
Distance to a supermarket is a real obstacle for a meaningful share of Jackson County residents. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert here and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).
- 32.4%
- low-access pop.
- 6
- food-desert tracts
- 9.2%
- on SNAP
- 145K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
32.4% of Jackson County residents live in a low-access area, and 6 of its 28 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 16
- low-access tracts
- 16K
- food-desert residents
- 4.8%
- households, no vehicle
- 13.8%
- below poverty line
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA, 1-and-10-mile measure).
USDA data puts Jackson County's low-access share at 32.4%, above the national share. 16 of the county's 28 census tracts are classified low-access, meaning residents there live far from a supermarket, an area covering about 45,212 people. 6 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 16,225 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
How Jackson County compares nationally
Relative to the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA food-access data, Jackson County's 32.4% low-access share is elevated, higher than 75% of them and ranked #785 most-affected nationwide.
Jackson County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 28 census tracts in Jackson County, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Jackson County vs. other Mississippi counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in Mississippi
- Jackson
Jackson County, MS
32.4 % low-access
- Adams
Adams County, MS
28.3 % low-access
- Alcorn
Alcorn County, MS
18.9 % low-access
- Amite 13.9
Amite County, MS
13.9 % low-access
- Attala
Attala County, MS
27.1 % low-access
- Benton
Benton County, MS
35.7 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 28 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 139,668 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 16 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 6 |
| Low-Access Population | 45,212 |
| Low-Access Share | 32.4%above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 16,225 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 145,249 |
| Median Household Income | $66,201 |
| Poverty Rate | 13.8%near the national average |
| SNAP Households | 5,291 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 9.2%below the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 4.8%well below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 0.8% |
About 9.2% of Jackson County households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 32.4% of residents are low-access, above the national share for U.S. counties.
- 9.2% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 5,291 households here.
- 4.8% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 6 tracts meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for Jackson County
above the national share
6 of Jackson County's 28 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 21.4% of all its tracts.
A further 10 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 16.
An estimated 45,212 residents, roughly 32.4% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 16,225 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 12 tracts (42.9%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in Jackson County
Jackson County has 128 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 10 store categories. Combination Grocery/Other lead with 56 locations (44% of the total), followed by convenience store.
Combination Grocery/Other · 56
- cvs pharmacy 1119, hurley
- cvs pharmacy 5739, ocean springs
- cvs pharmacy 5850, pascagoula
- dollar general 10413, pascagoula
- dollar general 10499, moss point
- dollar general 14233, pascagoula
- dollar general 18662, lucedale
- dollar general 18932, gautier
- dollar general 18933, vancleave
- dollar general 19430, moss point
- dollar general 4710, vancleave
- dollar general 6989, gautier
- dollar general 754, pascagoula
- dollar general 7947, hurley
- dollar general 9946, pascagoula
- dollartree 10094, ocean springs
- dollartree 9424, ocean springs
- dollar general 10011, ocean springs
- dollar general 11583, moss point
- dollar general 11694, pascagoula
- dollar general 12670, ocean springs
- dollar general 13363, moss point
- dollar general 14794, moss point
- dollar general 14860, biloxi
- dollar general 15306, ocean springs
- dollar general 15473, ocean springs
- dollar general 15710, gautier
- dollar general 15813, moss point
- dollar general 16071, moss point
- dollar general 17180, vancleave
- dollar general 22183, wade
- dollar general 22212, moss point
- dollar general 22247, ocean springs
- dollar general 22276, vancleave
- dollar general 22414, vancleave
- dollar general 2389, gautier
- dollar general 23908, vancleave
- dollar general 24008, ocean springs
- dollar general 30628, vancleave
- dollar general 9881, ocean springs
- dollar general store 16786, moss point
- dollar general store 17693, ocean springs
- dollar tree 2181, pascagoula
- dollar tree 5825, ocean springs
- dollar tree 5890, gautier
- dollar tree 6860, ocean springs
- family dollar 2660, hurley
- family dollar store 3024, vancleave
- family dollar store 5212, gautier
- family dollar store 8900, moss point
- family dollar store 8923, pascagoula
- killer crab and seafood, gautier
- the butcher on tucker, vancleave
- walgreen 05653, pascagoula
- walgreens 10360, gautier
- walgreens 18039, ocean springs
Convenience Store · 45
- alpha 24 inc, moss point
- b & p convenience store, pascagoula
- bao wows llc, ocean springs
- chicot plaza, pascagoula
- circle k 2707956, ocean springs
- circle k 2721593, ocean springs
- circle k 2723461, ocean springs
- circle k 2723757, ocean springs
- circle k 2723758, moss point
- circle k 2723993, gautier
- clark oil 43, ocean springs
- clark's 38, pascagoula
- clarks 10, moss point
- clarks 32, ocean springs
- corner food mart, moss point
- dodge store 6805, gautier
- dog river pit stop, lucedale
- dt hot food & grocery, pascagoula
- el caribe latino 2, pascagoula
- fayards' (gautier), gautier
- fast mart 13, pascagoula
- fast mart 29, gautier
- flowers bakery outlet 540, gautier
- fort ramsay corner store, vancleave
- gautier shell 34, gautier
- hema investments llc, ocean springs
- honey hole 2, moss point
- julian l. fayard iii, inc, ocean springs
- martin bluff grocery, gautier
- murphy express 8579, ocean springs
- merri mart 003, pascagoula
- metro serve, pascagoula
- miss al market, moss point
- mom love store llc, pascagoula
- moss point express, moss point
- murphy express 8532, gautier
- murphy express 8627, pascagoula
- neighbourhood store 2, pascagoula
- os quick stop, ocean springs
- pilot travel center 586, moss point
- qwik mart, ocean springs
- race trac 2497, ocean springs
- steven mabry grocery, moss point
- the general stores corp, moss point
- the neighborhood store, pascagoula
Supermarket · 7
- aldi 82048, ocean springs
- aldi 82053, pascagoula
- family frozen food, pascagoula
- greer's vancleave market 4, vancleave
- piggly wiggly 605, moss point
- ramey's 22, pascagoula
- ramey's 23, gautier
Medium Grocery Store · 6
- cheap charley's discount salvage grocery, moss point
- el higueyano mini market latino, gautier
- four seasons produce inc, moss point
- las americas, pascagoula
- lynn corp., moss point
- r&r foodmarket, lucedale
Super Store · 6
- greer's hurley market 19, moss point
- rouses market 40, ocean springs
- wayne lees grocery & market inc, pascagoula
- walmart neighborhood market 5776, ocean springs
- walmart s/c 1066, pascagoula
- walmart supercenter 1346, ocean springs
Large Grocery Store · 2
- bozos seafood, pascagoula
- kreole supermarket inc, moss point
Meat/Poultry Specialty · 2
- hurley meat market inc., moss point
- the blind butcher shoppe pascagoula, pascagoula
Small Grocery Store · 2
- elsie supermarket, pascagoula
- in & out stop, pascagoula
Farmers' Market · 1
- ocean springs fresh market cdc, ocean springs
Seafood Specialty · 1
- mini seafood market, llc, moss point
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in Mississippi
Compare Jackson County vs Adams County → · All Mississippi counties →
Food access nationally, Mississippi in context
Jackson County sits inside Mississippi (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Jackson County has low food access? ▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in Jackson County? ▼
What is the poverty rate in Jackson County? ▼
Is Jackson County a food desert? ▼
What share of Jackson County households lack a vehicle? ▼
Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.