Where does Mississippi rank for food access among U.S. states?

Mississippi ranks #18 of 50 and sits in the upper third by population-weighted low-access (26.4%), per USDA FARA 2019.

What share of Mississippi has low food access?

26.4% of Mississippi residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted) (+4.3 pts vs U.S.), per USDA FARA 2019.

How many food deserts are in Mississippi?

208 census tracts in Mississippi are USDA food deserts (~338K low-income low-access residents); ~2.54 tracts per county.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Mississippi?

Across Mississippi, 13.5% of households receive SNAP (ACS 2024) (+1.4 pts vs U.S.) - high tercile among states.

Which county in Mississippi has the worst food access?

Quitman County has the highest low-access share at 90.1% (~0.9% of statewide low-access residents), with 21.5% SNAP.

Signature · 13.5% SNAP (77th pct among states)

Food access in Mississippi

Mississippi stands out on SNAP (13.5%, +1.4 pts vs U.S.) alongside 26.4% population-weighted low-access across 82 counties.

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · December 31, 2024

26.4%
low-access pop.: 208
food-desert tracts: 13.5%
on SNAP: 82
counties

USDA FARA state access plate

State MS · Mississippi

LA-ELEVATED · ABOVE-NATIONAL · LILA-CLUSTER · SNAP-TYPICAL · VEH-OK · BOOK-MID

LA-ELEVATED 26.4% low-access
ABOVE-NATIONAL +4.3 pts vs US
LILA-CLUSTER 208 food-desert tracts
SNAP-TYPICAL 13.5% SNAP
VEH-OK 6.3% no vehicle
BOOK-MID 82 counties

Nearest low-access peer: Kansas (+ 0.0 pts)

Mississippi's thick county book (82)

Mississippi covers 82 counties among 51 states and DC (atlas inventory, not a food-access quality ranking). Orthogonal to the low-access / SNAP charts below.

Mississippi vs all states by county count

Where this state's county inventory sits among every tracked jurisdiction

82 16th of 51 higher than 35 of 51 states

Jurisdictions, banded by county inventory

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USDA Food Access Research Atlas / Census county inventory · 2026-06-23

Upper-band statewide picture

According to USDA FARA, Mississippi is in the upper third on low-access (26.4%, #18 of 50; ~782K residents) - +4.3 pts vs the U.S. mean.

#18
among states by low-access: 782K
low-access residents: 338K
food-desert residents: 6.3%
households, no vehicle

Population-weighted tract shares (not a county average). Upper-band states often pair elevated low-access with clustered LILA tracts.

Mississippi among higher low-access states

Mississippi ringed at #18 of 50 by population-weighted low-access. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

Signature read: 13.5% SNAP (77th pct among states) (+1.4 pts vs U.S. SNAP) .

Mississippi sits in the upper third of states by population-weighted low-access share (26.4% , #18 of 50). The Atlas marks 208 food-desert tracts here (338K low-income low-access residents). Quitman County alone holds about 0.9% of the state's low-access residents. County book is thick (82 units) so statewide averages mask more local spread.

States near Mississippi's elevated low-access or SNAP band

SNAP-led peer set first for Mississippi (13.5%), with low-access neighbours deduped against it.

Similar low-access share

Nearest population-weighted low-access rates (26.4% here).

Kansas · 26.4% low-access
Louisiana · 26.4% low-access
Hawaii · 26.7% low-access
Arizona · 26.8% low-access

Similar SNAP participation

Nearest household SNAP rates (13.5% here), deduped against the low-access panel.

Michigan · 13.5% SNAP
Alabama · 13.6% SNAP
Illinois · 13.7% SNAP
Kentucky · 13.2% SNAP

Source: USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + Census ACS 2024 SNAP. Floor county_count ≥ 5.

NM

31.7
AZ

26.8
HI

26.7
MS

26.4
KS

26.4
LA

26.4
DC

4.6

Quitman

90.1
Carroll

56.1
Tallahatchie

51.2
Bolivar

50.9
DeSoto

48.7
Hancock

43.5
Lamar

38
Lafayette

37.5

All counties in Mississippi

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Quitman County	6K	90.1%	21.5%	10.9%	29.6%
Carroll County	10K	56.1%	16.9%	4.5%	17.9%
Tallahatchie County	12K	51.2%	23.0%	10.2%	24.6%
Bolivar County	30K	50.9%	26.0%	10.1%	32.6%
DeSoto County	191K	48.7%	7.5%	3.8%	9.7%
Hancock County	46K	43.5%	10.5%	3.5%	13.8%
Lamar County	66K	38.0%	9.6%	4.4%	14.7%
Lafayette County	58K	37.5%	5.2%	6.7%	18.5%
Kemper County	9K	37.0%	13.2%	3.4%	24.8%
Sunflower County	24K	36.2%	33.1%	8.9%	28.9%
Benton County	8K	35.7%	17.2%	6.8%	21.5%
Hinds County	219K	34.9%	14.8%	8.1%	22.7%
Harrison County	211K	33.7%	15.0%	6.5%	17.1%
Oktibbeha County	52K	33.6%	11.8%	5.4%	25.5%
Franklin County	8K	32.4%	10.2%	3.1%	25.4%
Jackson County	145K	32.4%	9.2%	4.8%	13.8%
Lauderdale County	72K	32.1%	18.4%	9.5%	26.3%
Lowndes County	58K	32.1%	13.1%	6.1%	17.3%
Scott County	28K	31.4%	15.0%	6.4%	22.2%
Yazoo County	25K	31.1%	26.0%	18.2%	30.8%
Tate County	28K	29.6%	10.4%	3.0%	16.9%
Leflore County	27K	29.1%	28.1%	14.7%	31.5%
Washington County	43K	29.1%	17.6%	11.9%	26.4%
Copiah County	28K	28.5%	18.0%	8.1%	23.0%
Rankin County	159K	28.4%	5.5%	3.2%	9.8%
Adams County	29K	28.3%	16.5%	6.4%	27.0%
Attala County	18K	27.1%	15.6%	8.1%	18.0%
Issaquena County	928	25.8%	24.0%	14.0%	16.2%
Stone County	19K	25.7%	15.5%	6.1%	16.9%
Holmes County	16K	25.3%	33.0%	15.9%	36.4%
Madison County	112K	24.0%	7.2%	5.3%	11.2%
Walthall County	14K	23.0%	20.9%	5.0%	18.8%
Marshall County	34K	22.5%	13.9%	5.0%	23.0%
Coahoma County	21K	22.3%	26.9%	14.9%	35.5%
Yalobusha County	12K	22.2%	11.8%	5.8%	21.5%
Perry County	11K	21.8%	9.9%	3.8%	18.4%
Forrest County	78K	21.7%	16.6%	7.1%	21.0%
Montgomery County	10K	21.4%	20.1%	8.8%	25.2%
Panola County	33K	21.3%	16.3%	6.4%	23.3%
Clay County	18K	20.4%	21.0%	6.8%	20.9%
Lawrence County	12K	20.4%	18.8%	4.6%	23.7%
Leake County	21K	20.4%	13.1%	8.7%	20.5%
Lee County	83K	19.9%	10.4%	6.0%	14.6%
Alcorn County	34K	18.9%	16.1%	9.5%	15.8%
Winston County	18K	18.7%	18.5%	7.9%	26.9%
Humphreys County	7K	18.5%	28.4%	13.0%	27.0%
Wayne County	20K	17.9%	20.9%	6.0%	22.8%
Lincoln County	35K	17.7%	11.8%	5.9%	21.2%
Warren County	43K	17.2%	13.1%	6.0%	19.5%
Jefferson Davis County	11K	16.6%	21.9%	6.1%	28.7%
Pontotoc County	32K	16.3%	9.7%	2.2%	16.7%
Noxubee County	10K	16.1%	31.3%	9.7%	26.3%
Newton County	21K	16.0%	11.7%	5.0%	24.7%
Tunica County	9K	15.5%	28.3%	10.7%	31.1%
Grenada County	21K	15.4%	11.7%	7.9%	24.6%
Jones County	66K	15.2%	14.2%	4.4%	18.7%
Marion County	24K	14.5%	13.0%	5.5%	19.7%
Amite County	13K	13.9%	15.2%	5.8%	27.6%
Clarke County	15K	13.5%	16.0%	5.9%	17.4%
Smith County	14K	13.5%	9.0%	4.8%	17.0%
Choctaw County	8K	12.9%	13.6%	5.4%	18.4%
Claiborne County	9K	12.9%	23.7%	12.0%	30.7%
Itawamba County	24K	12.8%	7.3%	4.2%	15.5%
Simpson County	26K	12.4%	12.4%	4.0%	20.0%
Jasper County	16K	12.3%	15.9%	10.1%	19.4%
Wilkinson County	8K	11.8%	18.5%	7.7%	27.4%
Union County	28K	11.5%	7.2%	5.4%	15.1%
Pearl River County	57K	11.4%	13.4%	3.8%	16.5%
George County	25K	10.6%	11.0%	5.9%	18.3%
Pike County	40K	10.5%	18.2%	5.8%	27.1%
Webster County	10K	10.5%	17.3%	5.4%	16.4%
Jefferson County	7K	10.0%	21.4%	4.1%	32.5%
Chickasaw County	17K	9.4%	14.8%	8.9%	23.5%
Monroe County	34K	8.6%	13.1%	5.2%	18.0%
Sharkey County	4K	6.5%	24.3%	8.0%	30.9%
Prentiss County	25K	6.0%	11.5%	5.4%	16.8%
Greene County	14K	5.4%	13.7%	6.7%	18.3%
Neshoba County	29K	4.5%	16.2%	6.2%	23.1%
Tippah County	22K	4.5%	9.1%	2.2%	18.9%
Calhoun County	13K	3.1%	13.1%	6.8%	20.4%
Covington County	18K	0.0%	17.9%	8.8%	19.8%
Tishomingo County	19K	0.0%	8.9%	4.8%	18.0%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

Figures from USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and Census ACS 2024 5-year. Compiled 2026-06-23. Methodology · All states.

PlainFoodAccess renders this state summary directly from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (2024 5-year estimates), no number is typed in by an editor. Statewide figures for Mississippi are population-weighted aggregates of county Atlas and ACS records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-06-23. Primary sources: USDA Food Access Research Atlas and Census ACS 5-year estimates.