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Cliff-Zone Families
95,658
Total Wage Suppression
$69.6M
State Avg Cliff Zone
21.2%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In Mississippi, an estimated 95,658 families across 82 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinds County | 218,533 | 22.4% | 7,852 | $5.7M | 228% |
| Harrison County | 210,891 | 20.8% | 7,113 | $5.2M | 219% |
| DeSoto County | 191,301 | 14.9% | 5,224 | $3.8M | 223% |
| Jackson County | 145,249 | 20.7% | 4,542 | $3.3M | 219% |
| Rankin County | 158,854 | 14.7% | 3,916 | $2.9M | 228% |
| Forrest County | 78,272 | 23.0% | 2,858 | $2.1M | 219% |
| Jones County | 66,472 | 24.8% | 2,647 | $1.9M | 219% |
| Madison County | 111,647 | 12.8% | 2,485 | $1.8M | 228% |
| Lee County | 83,034 | 18.7% | 2,464 | $1.8M | 219% |
| Lamar County | 65,713 | 19.2% | 2,047 | $1.5M | 219% |
| Lauderdale County | 71,504 | 17.1% | 1,874 | $1.4M | 219% |
| Lowndes County | 57,838 | 23.9% | 1,868 | $1.4M | 219% |
| Pearl River County | 57,458 | 22.3% | 1,721 | $1.3M | 219% |
| Washington County | 42,765 | 25.0% | 1,534 | $1.1M | 219% |
| Alcorn County | 34,289 | 27.1% | 1,444 | $1.1M | 219% |
| Oktibbeha County | 51,771 | 20.1% | 1,414 | $1.0M | 219% |
| Marshall County | 33,979 | 22.3% | 1,357 | $988K | 219% |
| Pontotoc County | 31,550 | 24.0% | 1,334 | $971K | 219% |
| Monroe County | 33,747 | 23.7% | 1,324 | $964K | 219% |
| Lafayette County | 58,327 | 17.1% | 1,313 | $956K | 219% |
| Pike County | 39,602 | 25.2% | 1,272 | $926K | 219% |
| Hancock County | 46,167 | 15.9% | 1,242 | $904K | 219% |
| Scott County | 27,718 | 25.1% | 1,162 | $846K | 219% |
| Lincoln County | 34,877 | 21.4% | 1,115 | $812K | 219% |
| Tate County | 28,321 | 22.5% | 1,089 | $793K | 219% |
| Copiah County | 27,855 | 23.0% | 1,049 | $764K | 228% |
| Warren County | 43,020 | 16.9% | 1,043 | $759K | 219% |
| Marion County | 24,193 | 26.4% | 1,035 | $753K | 219% |
| Prentiss County | 25,184 | 25.7% | 1,025 | $746K | 219% |
| Tippah County | 21,523 | 24.1% | 1,010 | $735K | 219% |
| Neshoba County | 28,932 | 23.9% | 1,007 | $733K | 219% |
| Sunflower County | 24,333 | 26.5% | 965 | $703K | 219% |
| Union County | 28,122 | 24.5% | 937 | $682K | 219% |
| Panola County | 32,808 | 24.0% | 925 | $673K | 219% |
| Leflore County | 27,141 | 27.0% | 903 | $657K | 219% |
| Wayne County | 19,718 | 30.4% | 899 | $654K | 219% |
| Clay County | 18,383 | 27.6% | 884 | $644K | 219% |
| Bolivar County | 29,534 | 22.7% | 873 | $636K | 219% |
| Simpson County | 25,691 | 21.6% | 860 | $626K | 219% |
| Itawamba County | 24,036 | 21.4% | 825 | $601K | 219% |
| Leake County | 21,319 | 27.4% | 794 | $578K | 219% |
| George County | 25,170 | 20.6% | 778 | $566K | 219% |
| Adams County | 28,803 | 21.2% | 751 | $547K | 219% |
| Grenada County | 21,217 | 23.1% | 747 | $544K | 219% |
| Covington County | 18,148 | 26.3% | 742 | $540K | 219% |
| Yazoo County | 24,835 | 21.5% | 718 | $523K | 219% |
| Chickasaw County | 16,915 | 26.9% | 661 | $481K | 219% |
| Coahoma County | 20,540 | 22.5% | 657 | $478K | 219% |
| Clarke County | 15,314 | 24.9% | 613 | $446K | 219% |
| Attala County | 17,526 | 22.6% | 577 | $420K | 219% |
| Newton County | 21,093 | 19.2% | 550 | $400K | 219% |
| Stone County | 18,894 | 16.9% | 527 | $384K | 219% |
| Winston County | 17,536 | 22.0% | 527 | $384K | 219% |
| Tallahatchie County | 11,764 | 28.3% | 527 | $384K | 219% |
| Amite County | 12,565 | 26.3% | 509 | $371K | 219% |
| Tishomingo County | 18,660 | 20.1% | 491 | $357K | 219% |
| Jasper County | 16,059 | 22.8% | 489 | $356K | 219% |
| Lawrence County | 11,786 | 30.6% | 487 | $355K | 219% |
| Yalobusha County | 12,419 | 28.5% | 482 | $351K | 219% |
| Holmes County | 16,191 | 25.8% | 477 | $347K | 219% |
| Calhoun County | 12,922 | 26.6% | 473 | $344K | 219% |
| Perry County | 11,449 | 29.3% | 451 | $328K | 219% |
| Walthall County | 13,839 | 22.9% | 428 | $312K | 219% |
| Smith County | 14,132 | 22.3% | 425 | $309K | 219% |
| Humphreys County | 7,395 | 34.9% | 423 | $308K | 219% |
| Tunica County | 9,475 | 25.6% | 419 | $305K | 219% |
| Jefferson Davis County | 11,117 | 26.8% | 412 | $300K | 219% |
| Noxubee County | 10,025 | 31.2% | 370 | $269K | 219% |
| Greene County | 13,615 | 17.1% | 360 | $262K | 219% |
| Carroll County | 9,686 | 24.5% | 341 | $248K | 219% |
| Montgomery County | 9,602 | 23.6% | 338 | $246K | 219% |
| Kemper County | 8,729 | 29.7% | 338 | $246K | 219% |
| Webster County | 9,972 | 19.7% | 336 | $245K | 219% |
| Wilkinson County | 8,162 | 32.9% | 331 | $241K | 219% |
| Choctaw County | 8,118 | 21.9% | 282 | $205K | 219% |
| Benton County | 7,589 | 20.8% | 267 | $194K | 219% |
| Quitman County | 5,774 | 30.0% | 256 | $186K | 219% |
| Claiborne County | 8,582 | 26.0% | 236 | $172K | 219% |
| Jefferson County | 7,068 | 23.5% | 206 | $150K | 219% |
| Sharkey County | 3,872 | 33.9% | 205 | $149K | 219% |
| Franklin County | 7,622 | 18.0% | 190 | $138K | 219% |
| Issaquena County | 928 | 34.1% | 16 | $12K | 219% |
82 of 82 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.