Mississippi Economic Policy Center

Policy Areas
Budget & Tax
Predatory Lending
Income & Working Families
Mississippi Economic Recovery Resources
Self-Sufficiency Standard
MEPC Conference
Conference Presentations
Governor Winter Speech on Economy
Press Releases
Sign up for E-mail Updates
Site Map
Contact Us

Self-Sufficiency Standard

The Self Sufficiency Standard calculates how much a family needs to earn to live in their county without any government or private assistance.  The Standard is unique in that it varies based on the county of residence, the type of family (1 parent or 2 parents) and the number and ages of children. 

The map below links to county fact sheets that provide the self sufficiency snap shot for every county in the state. 

Click on a county in the map below, or choose one from the list at the right to view Self-Sufficiency Standard information for that county.

In addition to the snapshot provided by the fact sheets, individuals can access a Self Sufficiency Calculator to identify the Self Sufficiency Standard for their specific.  Click here to answer the question: How much do I need to earn to be self-sufficient?

Desoto County Marshall County Benton County Tippah County Alcorn County Tishomingo County Tunica County Tate County Prentiss County Coahoma County Quitman County Panola County Lafayette County Union County Itawamba County Lee County Pontotoc County Monroe County Chickasaw County Calhoun County Yalobusha County Tallahatchie County Bolivar County Sunflower County Leflore County Grenada County Carroll County Montgomery County Webster County Clay County Lowndes County Oktibbeha County Choctaw County Washington County Issaquena County Warren County Sharkey County Humphreys County Holmes County Attala County Winston County Noxubee County Yazoo County Madison County Leake County Neshoba County Kemper County Lauderdale County Newton County Scott County Rankin County Hinds County Claiborne County Clarke County Jasper County Smith County Simpson County Copiah County Jefferson County Wayne County Jones County Covington County Jefferson Davis County Lawrence County Lincoln County Franklin County Adams County Wilkinson County Amite County Pike County Walthall County Marion County Lamar County Forrest County Perry County Greene County George County Jackson County Stone County Harrison County Pearl River County Hancock County

Counties

News

February 28, 2010
County poverty rate is higher than state average (click here)

February 08, 2010
Mississippi Think Tank Calls for Balanced Approach to Revenue Shortfall (click here)

February 07, 2010
Mississippi - time for reveille on new revenue? (click here)

February 01, 2010
Time for new revenue? Tax advocates seek to 'balance' budget cuts (click here)

January 31, 2010
Budget: New revenue's inevitable (click here)

January 29, 2010
*MEPC Director, Ed Sivak Appears on Mississippi Public Broadcasting's (MPB) news program “Quorum”* (click here)

January 15, 2010
State Lawmakers Weigh Budget Cuts Against Tax Increases (click here)

January 08, 2010
Desoto County Students Benefit From Educational Resource Online (click here)

January 04, 2010
A Balanced Approach to State's Economic Shortfall (click here)

December 16, 2009
1 in 3 Mississippi families fails to make ends meet (click here)

December 14, 2009
Miss. Reaching Out to Nontraditional Students (click here)

December 02, 2009
Surviving economic downturn is first worry (click here)

November 08, 2009
Analysis: No talk of new Miss. taxes during crunch (click here)