John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
Among all government transfer programs, Income Maintenance was the smallest contributor in the county. Social Security was the largest contributor, totaling $183.52 million, equating to $4,317 per capita and making up 28.4% of total transfers.
Comparatively, Income Maintenance transfers across Mississippi amounted to $4.27 billion, ranking lowest among all transfer types within the state. This translates to an average of $1,452 per capita, or 12.1% of total government transfers. Including all transfer types, government transfer payments totaled $35.23 billion, accounting for 25.8% of residents’ total income, with an average of $11,984 per resident.
Medicare was the second largest contributor in Washington County in 2022, accounting for $149.56 million, averaging $3,518 per capita, representing 23.1% of transfers. Medicaid transfers provided another $145.55 million, averaging $3,424 per capita and comprising 22.5% of government support, making them the third largest contributors.
Government transfer payments are non-repayable funds provided by federal, state, or local governments to support individuals in need. These payments aim to stabilize economic conditions and provide financial support during hardships. Key programs include Social Security transfers (retirement benefits), Medicare transfers (healthcare for seniors), Medicaid transfers (healthcare for low-income individuals), and income maintenance transfers (financial assistance for basic needs).
With 18.2% of the population aged 65 and older, Washington County has a significant demand for programs like Social Security and Medicare. Despite this aid, the total per capita income in Washington County, excluding government transfers was $28,292, which is far below the county's total income of $43,492, emphasizing the role of government transfers in overall income.
When comparing 2022 to the previous year, Washington County saw a decrease in its Income Maintenance transfer dependency by 0.7%.
Government transfers have long been a modest financial safety net, historically comprising only a small fraction of Americans' income. However, since the 1970s—sometimes dubbed the “Great Transfer-mation”—dependency has surged from 8.2% (or $2,022 per capita in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars) in 1970 to 17.6% (or $11,542 per capita) in 2022 nationwide. In Washington County, reliance on government transfers has similarly increased from 9.9% (or $1,573 per capita) in 1970 to 35% (or $15,200 per capita) in 2022, reflecting broader national trends.
According to the Economic Innovation Group’s analysis, these trends are not merely short-term responses to economic pressures but rather reflect a profound, long-term transformation in how government support is integrated into American life. The study illustrates that structural shifts—from rising healthcare expenses and demographic changes to stagnant wages—have significantly increased dependency on government transfers.
| County | Rank | Dependency on Transfers (%) | % Population 65+ | Social Security Transfers (%) | Medicare Transfers (%) | Medicaid Transfers (%) | Income Maintenance Transfers (%) | Per Capita Transfers ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinds County | 1 | 26.2% | 16.3% | 8.1% | 6.5% | 4.6% | 4.1% | $12,290 |
| Harrison County | 2 | 25.1% | 16.6% | 8.1% | 6.1% | 3.4% | 2.8% | $11,576 |
| Rankin County | 3 | 18.1% | 16.7% | 7.1% | 4.8% | 2.9% | 1.4% | $9,722 |
| Jackson County | 4 | 22.9% | 17.3% | 9.1% | 5.6% | 2.5% | 2.4% | $10,527 |
| DeSoto County | 5 | 15.2% | 13.5% | 6.3% | 4.1% | 0.7% | 1.7% | $7,942 |
| Madison County | 6 | 11.5% | 15.4% | 4.8% | 3% | 1.2% | 1.2% | $9,109 |
| Lee County | 7 | 22.1% | 15.6% | 8.2% | 6.2% | 3% | 2.5% | $11,513 |
| Lauderdale County | 8 | 28% | 18.8% | 8.7% | 7.1% | 5.3% | 3.3% | $13,183 |
| Jones County | 9 | 30% | 18% | 9% | 6.9% | 8.3% | 3.1% | $13,808 |
| Forrest County | 10 | 26.6% | 13.9% | 8.2% | 5.4% | 5.1% | 3.1% | $11,254 |
| Pearl River County | 11 | 28.6% | 19.6% | 10.7% | 7.8% | 3.4% | 2.9% | $12,335 |
| Lowndes County | 12 | 25.2% | 17.4% | 8.3% | 6.2% | 3.7% | 3.2% | $12,182 |
| Washington County | 13 | 35% | 18.2% | 9.9% | 8.1% | 7.9% | 6.4% | $15,200 |
| Lamar County | 14 | 18.2% | 15.3% | 6.5% | 6% | 1.7% | 2% | $8,830 |
| Warren County | 15 | 27% | 18.9% | 8.9% | 7.5% | 4.6% | 3.5% | $13,001 |
| Hancock County | 16 | 26.1% | 22.4% | 10% | 6.9% | 3.4% | 2.5% | $11,584 |
| Pike County | 17 | 37% | 17.7% | 11% | 9.9% | 6.7% | 5.1% | $13,429 |
| Lafayette County | 18 | 17.9% | 13.8% | 6.2% | 4% | 3.9% | 1.4% | $8,882 |
| Bolivar County | 19 | 34.3% | 17.4% | 9.1% | 9.6% | 7.6% | 5.3% | $16,081 |
| Alcorn County | 20 | 30.3% | 19.1% | 11.2% | 8.3% | 5.2% | 3% | $13,637 |
| Oktibbeha County | 21 | 22.1% | 12.3% | 6.9% | 5.1% | 3.7% | 2.6% | $8,640 |
| Monroe County | 22 | 30.2% | 20.5% | 11.2% | 8.1% | 4.6% | 3.1% | $13,099 |
| Marshall County | 23 | 29.8% | 19% | 10.4% | 8.2% | 4.2% | 4.2% | $12,720 |
| Panola County | 24 | 32.5% | 17.8% | 10.6% | 8.9% | 5.4% | 4.9% | $13,115 |
| Adams County | 25 | 32.9% | 22% | 10.4% | 9% | 6.6% | 4% | $14,964 |
| Lincoln County | 26 | 27.3% | 17.9% | 9.6% | 6.7% | 5.6% | 2.9% | $12,191 |
| Leflore County | 27 | 32.1% | 15.6% | 8.1% | 6.7% | 8.9% | 5.6% | $15,010 |
| Simpson County | 28 | 33.9% | 19.2% | 9.3% | 8.8% | 9.9% | 3.4% | $15,375 |
| Copiah County | 29 | 34.5% | 19.4% | 10.6% | 9.5% | 5.8% | 4.8% | $13,493 |
| Neshoba County | 30 | 28% | 16.4% | 8.5% | 8% | 5.6% | 3.6% | $12,760 |
| Coahoma County | 31 | 41.4% | 16.9% | 9.6% | 9.2% | 12.3% | 6.8% | $17,951 |
| Marion County | 32 | 35.2% | 19% | 11.2% | 9.7% | 7.1% | 4.2% | $14,633 |
| Scott County | 33 | 32% | 15.8% | 9.5% | 10% | 5.8% | 4.4% | $12,312 |
| Sunflower County | 34 | 38.1% | 15.1% | 10% | 9.8% | 8.3% | 6.7% | $13,262 |
| Tate County | 35 | 26.6% | 16.7% | 9.8% | 7.4% | 2.9% | 3% | $11,544 |
| Pontotoc County | 36 | 25% | 15.4% | 9.5% | 6.9% | 3.4% | 2.9% | $10,355 |
| Yazoo County | 37 | 34.7% | 14.7% | 10% | 9% | 7.6% | 5.5% | $12,157 |
| Union County | 38 | 26.9% | 16.7% | 10.8% | 7.3% | 3.5% | 2.9% | $10,962 |
| Grenada County | 39 | 34% | 18.8% | 11.3% | 9.5% | 6.2% | 4.2% | $14,483 |
| Prentiss County | 40 | 32.2% | 17.8% | 11% | 9.6% | 5% | 3.3% | $12,078 |
| Holmes County | 41 | 53.3% | 16.6% | 11.6% | 13.1% | 13.6% | 8.9% | $18,081 |
| Tippah County | 42 | 31.3% | 17.5% | 10.5% | 8.9% | 5.9% | 3.3% | $13,393 |
| Itawamba County | 43 | 28.5% | 17.6% | 10.9% | 7.5% | 3.9% | 2.5% | $11,704 |
| Leake County | 44 | 31% | 18.3% | 9.4% | 9.3% | 5.4% | 4% | $12,941 |
| Clay County | 45 | 30.6% | 19.9% | 10.2% | 8.3% | 5.1% | 4.2% | $14,565 |
| Newton County | 46 | 31.4% | 17.5% | 10.5% | 7.9% | 5.7% | 3.4% | $12,638 |
| George County | 47 | 26.8% | 14.7% | 9.7% | 7.6% | 3.5% | 3.1% | $10,384 |
| Tishomingo County | 48 | 32.7% | 21.2% | 12.5% | 9.5% | 5.3% | 2.5% | $13,844 |
| Attala County | 49 | 34% | 19.6% | 10.5% | 10.4% | 6.1% | 3.9% | $14,630 |
| Wayne County | 50 | 28.6% | 18.2% | 9.5% | 6.6% | 5.6% | 4.1% | $12,650 |
| Covington County | 51 | 30.7% | 17.4% | 9.8% | 8.6% | 5% | 3.8% | $13,747 |
| Winston County | 52 | 32.1% | 21.5% | 11.2% | 8.1% | 6% | 4.1% | $14,029 |
| Stone County | 53 | 33.4% | 17.3% | 10% | 9.2% | 3.8% | 3.1% | $13,135 |
| Chickasaw County | 54 | 35.4% | 18.8% | 11.5% | 9.8% | 6.4% | 4.4% | $13,805 |
| Jasper County | 55 | 30.4% | 21.7% | 10.2% | 8.1% | 5.8% | 3.5% | $14,319 |
| Clarke County | 56 | 34.4% | 22.4% | 11.7% | 10% | 5.9% | 3.4% | $14,748 |
| Yalobusha County | 57 | 40.1% | 21.9% | 14.2% | 12.6% | 5.8% | 4.1% | $16,800 |
| Lawrence County | 58 | 38.2% | 19.6% | 12.6% | 12.6% | 5.5% | 3.7% | $16,861 |
| Calhoun County | 59 | 37.3% | 20.8% | 12.7% | 9.9% | 7.5% | 4.1% | $15,069 |
| Walthall County | 60 | 35.7% | 20.7% | 11.9% | 8.9% | 7.1% | 4.5% | $13,418 |
| Smith County | 61 | 27.5% | 21.2% | 10.4% | 7% | 4.9% | 3% | $12,989 |
| Jefferson Davis County | 62 | 42.2% | 24.6% | 12.5% | 12.3% | 7.9% | 5.6% | $15,237 |
| Tallahatchie County | 63 | 35.3% | 17.6% | 9.9% | 9.8% | 7.2% | 5.8% | $13,576 |
| Amite County | 64 | 32.6% | 26.2% | 12.6% | 7.4% | 5.8% | 3.6% | $12,498 |
| Greene County | 65 | 35.5% | 16% | 10.5% | 12.2% | 6.2% | 3.6% | $11,585 |
| Noxubee County | 66 | 38.6% | 18.2% | 10.2% | 9.6% | 9.2% | 6.8% | $15,627 |
| Montgomery County | 67 | 39.2% | 22.9% | 12.2% | 11.4% | 8% | 4.3% | $16,241 |
| Webster County | 68 | 34.3% | 18.4% | 11.7% | 9.4% | 6.9% | 3.4% | $15,024 |
| Claiborne County | 69 | 46.7% | 18.1% | 11.3% | 11.4% | 9.7% | 7.2% | $16,329 |
| Kemper County | 70 | 41.3% | 22.5% | 11.2% | 11.9% | 6.9% | 4.8% | $15,289 |
| Perry County | 71 | 31.8% | 19.5% | 12.5% | 4.4% | 6.9% | 4.2% | $11,539 |
| Carroll County | 72 | 29.9% | 25% | 12.2% | 8.1% | 4.1% | 3% | $12,902 |
| Humphreys County | 73 | 43.1% | 19.1% | 10.6% | 10% | 11.4% | 8.4% | $17,002 |
| Tunica County | 74 | 32.1% | 13.8% | 8.5% | 7.4% | 6.5% | 6.9% | $12,740 |
| Wilkinson County | 75 | 41.4% | 19.7% | 11% | 12.2% | 10.2% | 5.6% | $14,708 |
| Franklin County | 76 | 38.4% | 21.5% | 12.3% | 12.5% | 6.6% | 3.7% | $15,357 |
| Jefferson County | 77 | 41.1% | 19.6% | 11.4% | 10.3% | 9.8% | 6.6% | $15,483 |
| Jefferson Davis County | 77 | 41.1% | 19.6% | 11.4% | 10.3% | 9.8% | 6.6% | $15,483 |
| Benton County | 79 | 34.9% | 19.8% | 11.6% | 10.3% | 6.1% | 4.3% | $14,478 |
| Quitman County | 80 | 50% | 18.7% | 11.8% | 12.4% | 14.4% | 8.1% | $19,109 |
| Choctaw County | 81 | 31.4% | 23.4% | 9.5% | 8.5% | 7.2% | 3.7% | $12,835 |
| Sharkey County | 82 | 44.5% | 21.6% | 12.1% | 10.7% | 12.2% | 6.7% | $20,533 |
| Issaquena County | 83 | 33.6% | 15.6% | 7.5% | 8.6% | 9.1% | 6.6% | $8,237 |
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