MISSISSIPPI: The Poorest Towns In The USA's Poorest State - Forgotten, Dying Places In The Delta

all right everyone I am in rural Mississippi let me show you on the map like I always do see the blue dot I'm right there Memphis up to the north uh Little Rock to the northwest I am in the Mississippi Delta this will be my third video of the delta it is my intent to video pretty much every town here in this area of Mississippi this is arguably the poorest area in the United States Mississippi is already the poorest state and um well as you will see in this video these towns are very very poor as well now despite being poor this area of the country the Delta is rich in musical history uh rock and roll as we know it came from here uh Clarksdale which is a mere 17 miles west of here is considered by many to be the birthplace of rock and roll these bands you listen to as a kid because I I know much of you are older Beatles Rolling Stones um Led Zeppelin Aerosmith ZZ Top they were all heavily influenced by the Blues which came out of here in fact Rolling Stones got their name from a muddy water song called Like a Rolling Stone Muddy Waters is one of the great bluesmens in history in fact he is often called the father of rock and roll because he grew up in this area nearby over there in Clarksdale and he would listen to Blues he was an accomplished guitar player but he started using an electric guitar to play the music he electrified the blues if you will and uh these kids young guys like John Lennon and Keith Richards they would listen to it and start playing it themselves and applied it to their music Rolling Stones music Beatles music and rock and roll came directly from that Muddy Waters is one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and deservedly so because he basically invented rock and roll or at least he's one of the instrumental figures in that the delta basically is a huge flood plain off the Mississippi River what happens is periodically the Mississippi and of course all the creeks and streams and smaller rivers that feed into it will flood we'll break their Banks if you will jump their Banks and flood this area and when the waters recede they leave all these Nutri nutrients etc etc and as a result this is agriculturally speaking one of the richest most affordable places on Earth so of course it's farmland what's happened is all these huge farms which you know 40 50 years ago might need 500 people to run them or operate them now only need five and what you have left are all these towns that look like this uh that's what's left now I am in the town of Lambert and this town vividly as far as the numbers concerned tell you the story that story exactly now in Lambert Peak population was in 2000 just a little over 20 years ago there were just under 2 000 people here today there are about 1100 here's another another number that really tells the story in the year 2000 the median age here was 28. today it's 44. what does that tell you it tells you that the young people who grew up here leave when they grow up they leave their parents and their grandparents and as those people slowly die out so does the city I would be really interested to see this area the delta in about 30 years because it's going to be littered with ghost towns but you can see it happening already this is downtown Lambert now you can see the condition that it's in I have real slope to it today is today is Wednesday and it's about 10 A.M but there's no one here in downtown now here's some other numbers real quick uh the race numbers 79 black 20 White one percent mixed incomes are low as you can well imagine uh per capita income here in this town 13 500 a year that's 260 dollars a week median household income very low as well 21 800. that's 419 dollars a week median household income that's an astonishing number poverty is high uh 33 percent for children 17 and under it's much worse 60 percent 60 of the children that's six out of every ten kids live at or below the poverty level here in this town of Lambert some other numbers that stick out uh people who are married 32 percent 32 percent of the town is married U.S average is 50. and another number that kind of uh sticks out as well High School graduation rate is 67 percent here U.S average is 85.5 yeah that looks like it was once a home maybe it burned down there's quite a few abandoned homes of uh here in town what you would expect with the population loss of course now you've heard me tell you about the uh High poverty low incomes and you're thinking high crime as well because I usually go hand in hand not here surprisingly not let's see the crime right here last year was 13 per 1000 people U.S average is 23. ah so this town has about 1100 people that means there were 13 14 maybe 15 crimes um last year I broke it down a little bit farther violent crime 1.6 per 1000. U.S average is 3.9 so that's about a third property crimes 12 per 1000 us average is 20. so low crime there's some more dogs in front of the ever-present Dollar General that is a big Dollar General too it's about twice bigger than what they normally are anyway I'm gonna take a little bit more of a look around here and then move on to the next town this is Charlie Pride Highway by the way he's from here as well one of the great country singers but um yeah just a tremendous amount of this let's see people want to know about gas prices here it is 279 for a gallon of gas here as you would expect there is a lot of abandoned homes wow look at this this is a another group of dogs they're just running loose everywhere here there's a little puppy a little little guy hope he's running too close to the car I'm gonna get out of here because I don't want him getting under my wheels all right let's see there was one more statistic for me to give you and um medium that's median home values they are 49 500. yeah forty nine thousand you could get a house here yeah this house looks like yeah it burned down or at least it was involved in a fire and it just sits here now there's an impressive building right here let's see what it is if I was to guess though probably a church yeah that is First Baptist Church all right um well let's see I'm making my way back into downtown I'm gonna drive through here one more time and then uh get moving to the next town well guys I'm entering the town of marks a little bit better numbers in this town now the median age is 49 so it is aging uh population in 1970 was 2600 people today there's a little over 1400 so the city is losing population this downtown's got a few cars in it though uh it's a little bit of life here I see race break down 71 percent black 27 White two percent other per capita income 21 800 a year that's 419 dollars a week median household income 32 500. uh 625 a week now this is the county seat for Quitman County and they have a beautiful County Courthouse that is an impressive structure I see a broken out glass in it though I hate to see hate to see that but anyway yeah this building was built in 1911 neoclassical architecture that basically means uh simple lines but still Grand in appearance usually big columns are involved you can see them takes its cues from ancient Greece and Rome poverty rate 21 percent so lower than the last town children 17 and under it is still high though 39 percent median home value 83 300. so the house is worth a little bit more here I come upon a pretty impressive looking building I'm gonna guess it's a church like we saw in the last Town it is First Baptist yeah it's beautiful kind of off downtown a block or so there's a handful of businesses here also abandoned homes as you can see let's see non-denominational House of Prayer let's see downtown is right over there so I can acclimate you to where I'm at let's see Delta burial Corporation home office and as we head back into downtown or the downtown area some empty storefronts but a handful of businesses Tune Time what that was anyway you got Jimmy's House of Style here it's a barber someone is asking me about showing barber shops well there's one and then Hot Spot Lounge all right see there's downtown again and there's a little bit more of downtown I didn't show you so uh yeah I'm gonna do that right here yeah here's what's left of downtown including the fire department get asked about that a lot there it is a few more empty buildings as I drive two Charlie Pride Highway here it is that looks like there's an Asian restaurant here look on the sandwich shop too and it looks like it's open China Garden it looks like it's in operation I don't think it's open right this moment anyway it's a pleasant day here in Mississippi it's about 60 degrees that is 16 degrees Celsius for all of you in the rest of the world the sun is coming out feels really nice now the town does have a grocery store Family Market Jeffcoat Family Market looks modern too doesn't it now is that being said as I get back out on Charlie Pride Highway there is a Dollar General as well right across the street all right everybody I've got quite a few towns to show you so uh I'm gonna head to the next one got to keep this moving all right everyone I am in darling darling Mississippi about 154 people here it's very small really unusual numbers here though let's see median age is 44. uh gender breakdown 66 female 34 male 23 of those females are widowed so women outnumber men two to one and uh a quarter of the women their husbands has have died 40 percent of the town is 60 and older 33 percent of the town is aged 20 to 29 eight percent of the town is aged zero to nine years old zero percent of the town is aged 10 years old to 19. so you've got a bunch of older people here you've got some younger people here with young children because there are no kids here over the age of 10. now that makes the poverty numbers interesting poverty is 28 percent children 17 and under zero yeah I doubled and triple checked it now for those 65 and older however it's not so good 57 of those folks live at or below the poverty level now per capita income 12 900 a year that's 248 dollars a week that just doesn't even seem possible does it this is a church Church of Christ in God the darling congregation Church of God wow um where was I oh yeah median household income and this town is sixteen thousand two hundred and fifty dollars a year sixteen thousand dollars a year now the way median household incomes work is uh of course it's everybody that lives in a household aged 15 and older boy you can hear that train you definitely know that was coming anyway okay so yeah a household uh their incomes everybody 15 and older combined together okay so half the people in this town their household income is above 16 250 a year fully one half the people in this town their household income is lower can you imagine half the households in this town make their full households all together make less or make sixteen thousand two hundred fifty a year 313 dollars a week for the full household that's everybody that's the lowest I've ever seen home value you ready for this I'll show you this house as I give you this number 28 500. so the might be the lowest median home value of any town that I've seen so far nobody picks up trash here either uh let's see race break down 83 percent black uh 17 White another number that sticks out a little bit uh High School graduation rate 69 percent that's much lower than the U.S average of 85. crime is pretty high 3.6 per 100. U.S averages 2.3 we gotta see all the trash wow um yeah this this is a very poor town that is dying now I haven't been able to find a gas station or any kind of grocery store or even a convenience store they don't have it here but they have a Chester's Chicken and it looks like it's open as far as I can tell that is the only business in this town that is open wow all right uh yeah I gotta keep uh keep this moving so I'm gonna head to the next town now this little guy seems like uh he's far from home yeah looks like he knows where he's going though there's some houses up here let's see everyone I am in the town of Falcon a little more than a wide spot in the road population's only 140. but it's got some interesting numbers so I thought I'd take a quick look see what's here you think that store is open Falcon quick stop cold drinks cold cuts cold beer and hot food looks like an old mobile home converted into some kind of store but I'm thinking it's not an operation now I'm gonna head this way see the couple of buildings they have in their downtown tell you about the well about the village some of the numbers that stick out gender ratio 66 percent female 30 34 male so there are or the women app number the men two to one race breakdown 100 black yeah there's only black folk here uh another number that sticks out is the percentage of people who are married 16 percent U.S average is 50. now I was thinking well maybe that's because there are a lot of widows but there are not only four percent of the women here are widows and zero males gotta well it used to be a gas station I guess it's not an operation now that's pretty evident that sticks out High School graduation rates uh 52 percent of this town has graduated high school U.S average is 85. that's pretty low capital income is eighteen thousand six hundred about 350 a week median household income very low 35 000 a year 673 dollars a week there's a building here I wanted to show you real quick there it is that is Town Hall town of Falcon Town Hall that trailer there I bet you've never seen a town hall that looks like that there's only a couple streets here I'll tell you what I'll drive down one real quick and I'll finish telling you the numbers all right let's see poverty 41 percent uh children 17 and under it's 39 percent still high every one of these towns so far children's poverty has been really high 65 and older though really sticks out 72 percent of the people 65 and older live at the poverty level median home value 53 600. so very low home values here crime is a little bit High 3.7 per 100 people U.S average is 2.3 so there you go that's this town in a nutshell here I am back out on Charlie Pride Highway I'm gonna head to the next place all right everyone I am driving into Sledge Sledge Mississippi visually it's already quite something let's see Peak population was in 1980 there were 700 people here today there are 370. so it's lost almost half its population let's see gender breakdown sticks out a little 58 female 42 male uh race breakdown 91 black eight percent White one percent mixed I'm diving into downtown oop something in the back of the car got loose anyway uh let's see per capita income 15 200. that's 293 dollars a week the average person is living on here median household income 37 800. that's 727 dollars a week a number that sticks out uh 30 percent of the population is married people don't get married here in Mississippi got a sort of kind of looking modern bank here not sure if that's open it's not open today and today is Wednesday uh crime 3.5 per 100 people U.S average is 2.3 so crime's a little high it is about 11 A.M there is nothing happening here they give you a shot to the left of me some railroad tracks you wonder what this looked like when it was I don't know I wouldn't say busy but there were businesses in this in uh in these buildings in Ruins now look at this here used to be a gas station and there's still a pump there used tire yeah that's not worked in a long time though oh look here it looks like it was a bait shop too minnows crickets fishing line wow I could take a quick look at residential all right is this the post office no this is Town Hall yeah Sledge Sledge town hall right there well let's see what a street or two looks like median home values here are 51 600. so you can get a house pretty cheap here now this town has a very famous person that was born here a legend we have been riding on his Highway Charlie Pride the great country superstar Charlie Pride was born here in this little town I can tell you how many times I've seen that guy on TV a huge country star this wow this is where he was born this tiny little town now for those of you who are wondering about the fire department it's right here Sledge Fire Department uh we need volunteers please call now I haven't seen any businesses here oh I'll take a look but that I know of there is not even a convenience store here there used to be a grocery store here but that's no longer an operation and another one over here maybe you can get gas here let's see I'm not 100 sure that those are operating Maybe says uh Boyd's convenience store and tax service so he'll sell you a six pack and do your taxes can't beat that uh gas 315 a gallon that might be in operation so looks like they can get some gas here and maybe get a few items at a store well everyone I am in Crenshaw Crenshaw Mississippi Peak population was 1960. there were almost 1400 people here today there's a little over 600. the town has lost over half its population uh let's see gender breakdowns ticks out a little 57 female 12 of them are widowed per capita income 14 500 a year that's 280 a week median household income 33 500. uh that's 644 a week let's see race breakdown 85 percent black 13 White two percent other yeah there's some abandoned house with this much population loss and definitely going to see that here let's see poverty rate 25 percent children 17 and under it's much worse 44 percent median home values here are fifty seven thousand dollars yeah they got a that's a helicopter of some sort maybe for the kids to play on uh let's see there is a police department that's it right there all right I'm pulling that into Main Street give you a look at it kind of what you would expect auto parts store that is open but the rest of the buildings look like yeah they're just sitting empty soul food restaurant can't tell if that's open I mean it's lunch time it's noon on Wednesday I went on a head into back into residential take a look around let's see I didn't give you crime yet 3.3 per 100 people U.S average is 2.3 so crime is a little high that's downtown right there checking out some of the stuff over here it looks like that caught on fire look at that I think it's just disintegrating what is this here it looks like a church of some sort Divine Deliverance Temple we'll go into a little residential uh let's see did I give you guys median home values yet just in case I didn't they are fifty seven thousand dollars fifty thousand dollars median home value abandoned one there look at the road uh you know what can you say this is what happens when the tax base declines and there's just nothing to no money to fix anything including the roads if you think that car might run oh it's another loose dog he looks like he's hurt oh now he's now he's barking at me huh there's another dog right there dogs all over the place another one right there and the ruins of that house several runes goodness gracious wow and uh not a grocery store or anything here but there it is all right everyone so that will be the end of this video I'm going to head straight west across the Mississippi River into the Arkansas Delta for the next video so be looking for that one

Channel: Joe & Nic's Road Trip

Views: 1,372,994

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Id: USLTKITtQ7g

Length: 42min 53sec (2573 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 01 2023