Financial Literacy in Perry County, Mississippi

With a population of roughly 11,406, Perry County, Mississippi is the 64th-largest of 82 counties in Mississippi. Its population has held essentially flat since 2020, moving less than a percent either way. The median age is 42.9.

11.4% of Perry County residents 25 and older have completed a bachelor's degree or more. That sits 6.3 points below the Mississippi average of 17.7%. Put the other way round: of the 7,859 adults 25 and over counted in the 2019–2023 ACS, roughly 6,963 — 88.6% — are building their financial lives without a four-year degree behind them.

The typical household here earns $50,435 a year. That is $5,691 above the Mississippi median. Roughly 18.1% of residents live below the poverty line, which puts real weight on decisions about credit, rent and emergency savings. The median home is valued at $126,000, roughly 2.5× median household income.

Perry County by the numbers

Measure	Value
Population (2024)	11,406
Change since 2020	-0.5%
Median household income	$50,435
Adults 25+ with a bachelor’s degree	11.4%
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma	88.7%
Median age	42.9
Poverty rate	18.1%
Unemployment rate	6.2%
Median home value	$126,000
Land area	647.282 sq mi
Population density	18 / sq mi

What Mississippi teaches — and to whom

Mississippi already requires 1 semester of personal finance — taught within College & Career Readiness — for a high school diploma, a rule in force since the graduating class of 2022. That covers students still in the system. It does nothing for the adults already out of it — which, in Perry County, is most of the people reading this.

LearnLife organises this the way the decisions actually arrive: Emotional regulation — the self-management that decides whether the other skills ever get used; Money — budgeting, credit, debt and taxes — the mechanics nobody is formally taught; Legal literacy — leases, contracts, employment rights and what a signature actually commits you to.

Where to start in Perry County

Build a buffer before anything else

With 18.1% of Perry County living below the poverty line, the single highest-return skill here is cash-flow control: knowing what actually lands each month, what leaves automatically, and how to build even a small buffer between the two. A few hundred dollars of slack is the difference between a car repair being an inconvenience and it being a payday loan.

Treat income stability as a skill

Unemployment in Perry County sits at 6.2%. Where work is less certain, the practical skills are the defensive ones: what unemployment insurance actually pays and how fast, how to read a severance agreement, and which bills to triage first when income stops.

Questions people ask about Perry County

Do high school students in Perry County, Mississippi have to take a personal finance class?

Yes. Mississippi requires 1 semester, taught within College & Career Readiness, to graduate, in force since the class of 2022.

How many adults in Perry County, Mississippi have a college degree?

11.4% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher, based on the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey. The remaining 88.6% are managing their finances without one.

What is the median household income in Perry County, Mississippi?

$50,435, per the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey.

Where can adults in Perry County, Mississippi learn personal finance?

Graduation requirements only ever reach people still in school. For adults, LearnLife covers the same ground on demand — money, legal literacy and the self-management that decides whether either gets used.

Start with whichever one is costing you money right now.

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Nearby in Mississippi

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Population and demographic figures: U.S. Census Bureau — 2024 Gazetteer, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates, and the American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates. Graduation-requirement status: NGPF Live U.S. Dashboard, read 2026-09-14. Figures marked as unavailable are suppressed by the Census Bureau for small populations.