The U.S. has reported more than 36.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases as of August 17, 2021. More than 610,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 — the highest death toll of any country.

The virus has spread throughout the country in a way that has been difficult to predict, surging in one region, then showing signs of improvement, and then reappearing in other regions. Though local outbreaks may ebb and flow, the current surge in cases has been felt nearly nationwide, leading to new travel restrictions and business closures around the country.

Nationwide, there were an average of 37.9 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans in the week ending August 17, 2021. Cumulatively, the U.S. has reported 11,170.9 cases per 100,000 Americans, and 188.5 deaths per 100,000 Americans.

The extent of the spread of the novel coronavirus continues to vary considerably from state to state, and even from county to county. Even as the number of daily new cases is flattening or even declining in some parts of the country, new cases are surging at a growing rate in others.

The coronavirus has spread to different parts of the country in different stages throughout the pandemic. In the spring, the worst hit states were in the Northeast, as New York City became the epicenter of the nation’s crisis. The virus spread to states throughout the Sun Belt in the summer, and hit states in the Midwest and West during the fall. By November 2020, nearly every state was categorized as a COVID-19 hot spot, according to definitions based on new cases per capita from the nonprofit health organization Kaiser Family Foundation.

In Mississippi, there were an average of 98.1 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents in the week ending August 17, 2021. The Mississippi case growth rate ranks as the 3rd highest of all 50 states.

While the nation’s largest counties were hit hardest in the early months of the pandemic, nearly every county has suffered from the coronavirus. Outbreaks can occur quickly in places where large numbers of people tend to congregate, leaving counties with colleges, correctional facilities, and nursing homes particularly at risk.

In Neshoba County, there were an average of 271.9 new confirmed cases per day per 100,000 residents in the week ending August 17, 2021 — the highest rate of any county in Mississippi. Since the pandemic began, the county has reported 5,263 confirmed cases, or 17,916.0 cases per 100,000.

There have been 182 deaths, or 619.6 deaths per 100,000 residents.

To determine the county in each state with the highest rate of daily cases of the virus, 24/7 Wall St. compiled and reviewed data from state and local health departments. We ranked counties according to the average new number of cases per 100,000 residents per day during the week ending August 17, 2021. Population data used to adjust case and death totals came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey and are five-year estimates.

These are all the counties in Mississippi where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).

No.	County	Population	New daily cases per 100,000	Total cases	Total deaths	Cases per 100,000	Deaths per 100,000
1	Neshoba County	29,376	271.9	5,263	182	17,916.0	619.6
2	Stone County	18,375	174.1	2,731	38	14,862.6	206.8
3	George County	23,710	170.9	3,246	54	13,690.4	227.8
4	Wayne County	20,422	170.2	3,163	47	15,488.2	230.1
5	Forrest County	75,517	159.2	10,371	169	13,733.3	223.8
6	Covington County	19,091	151.8	3,333	86	17,458.5	450.5
7	Lamar County	61,223	149.6	8,274	94	13,514.5	153.5
8	Harrison County	202,626	144.3	24,410	345	12,046.8	170.3
9	Newton County	21,524	142.4	3,017	65	14,016.9	302.0
10	Jackson County	142,014	135.8	17,861	264	12,576.9	185.9
11	Tippah County	21,990	132.4	3,484	71	15,843.6	322.9
12	Lauderdale County	77,323	129.1	9,199	249	11,896.8	322.0
13	Attala County	18,581	123.8	2,564	75	13,799.0	403.6
14	Pearl River County	55,149	120.2	6,121	160	11,099.0	290.1
15	Webster County	9,828	117.5	1,375	32	13,990.6	325.6
16	Jasper County	16,529	116.4	2,573	48	15,566.6	290.4
17	Jones County	68,454	115.7	10,165	174	14,849.4	254.2
18	Hancock County	46,653	113.7	5,018	90	10,756.0	192.9
19	Leake County	22,870	112.1	3,193	77	13,961.5	336.7
20	Lowndes County	59,437	105.3	7,907	154	13,303.2	259.1
21	Jefferson Davis County	11,495	104.9	1,324	35	11,518.1	304.5
22	Greene County	13,714	97.6	1,586	38	11,564.8	277.1
23	Union County	28,356	96.7	4,701	79	16,578.5	278.6
24	Kemper County	10,107	95.7	1,146	31	11,338.7	306.7
25	Prentiss County	25,360	95.5	3,295	64	12,992.9	252.4
26	Lawrence County	12,630	93.4	1,587	27	12,565.3	213.8
27	Lee County	84,915	92.0	11,759	184	13,848.0	216.7
28	Clarke County	15,928	91.6	2,068	81	12,983.4	508.5
29	Clay County	19,808	91.6	2,230	55	11,258.1	277.7
30	Marion County	25,202	89.7	3,171	85	12,582.3	337.3
31	Amite County	12,468	86.4	1,519	44	12,183.2	352.9
32	Scott County	28,415	83.2	3,742	78	13,169.1	274.5
33	Oktibbeha County	49,481	83.0	5,518	99	11,151.8	200.1
34	Calhoun County	14,571	82.6	1,991	33	13,664.1	226.5
35	Monroe County	35,840	81.3	4,728	138	13,192.0	385.0
36	Itawamba County	23,480	80.5	3,396	82	14,463.4	349.2
37	Perry County	12,028	77.9	1,471	39	12,229.8	324.2
38	Pike County	39,737	75.2	4,075	116	10,254.9	291.9
39	Benton County	8,253	75.2	1,156	25	14,007.0	302.9
40	Warren County	47,075	74.7	5,192	128	11,029.2	271.9
41	Walthall County	14,601	74.5	1,616	51	11,067.7	349.3
42	Yalobusha County	12,421	74.4	1,844	41	14,845.8	330.1
43	Alcorn County	37,180	73.8	3,919	75	10,540.6	201.7
44	Smith County	16,063	73.4	1,973	37	12,282.9	230.3
45	Choctaw County	8,321	73.1	912	19	10,960.2	228.3
46	Winston County	18,358	72.0	2,512	85	13,683.4	463.0
47	Rankin County	151,240	71.2	17,004	301	11,243.1	199.0
48	Bolivar County	32,592	70.7	5,241	137	16,080.6	420.3
49	Grenada County	21,278	70.6	2,890	89	13,582.1	418.3
50	Chickasaw County	17,279	69.3	2,349	60	13,594.5	347.2
51	Montgomery County	10,198	69.2	1,419	46	13,914.5	451.1
52	Simpson County	27,073	69.0	3,488	95	12,883.7	350.9
53	Adams County	31,547	68.0	3,759	90	11,915.6	285.3
54	Carroll County	10,129	67.7	1,347	31	13,298.4	306.1
55	Lafayette County	53,459	67.0	7,012	127	13,116.6	237.6
56	Noxubee County	10,828	66.3	1,449	36	13,382.0	332.5
57	Yazoo County	27,974	66.3	3,620	79	12,940.6	282.4
58	Hinds County	241,774	64.6	26,196	473	10,834.9	195.6
59	Pontotoc County	31,315	64.5	4,777	76	15,254.7	242.7
60	Wilkinson County	8,990	64.2	870	33	9,677.4	367.1
61	Marshall County	35,787	63.8	4,977	106	13,907.3	296.2
62	Leflore County	29,804	62.7	3,890	127	13,051.9	426.1
63	Holmes County	18,075	61.1	2,159	75	11,944.7	414.9
64	Copiah County	28,721	56.9	3,514	70	12,235.0	243.7
65	Sunflower County	26,532	56.7	3,682	95	13,877.6	358.1
66	DeSoto County	176,132	56.6	24,662	288	14,002.0	163.5
67	Jefferson County	7,346	55.8	775	29	10,550.0	394.8
68	Madison County	103,498	55.5	11,789	235	11,390.6	227.1
69	Franklin County	7,757	55.2	934	24	12,040.7	309.4
70	Tishomingo County	19,478	53.1	2,515	70	12,912.0	359.4
71	Coahoma County	23,802	52.3	3,297	86	13,851.8	361.3
72	Sharkey County	4,511	52.0	547	19	12,125.9	421.2
73	Quitman County	7,372	51.8	904	20	12,262.6	271.3
74	Claiborne County	9,120	47.4	1,115	31	12,225.9	339.9
75	Issaquena County	1,328	46.1	179	6	13,478.9	451.8
76	Tunica County	10,170	43.5	1,229	27	12,084.6	265.5
77	Panola County	34,243	43.3	5,010	112	14,630.7	327.1
78	Humphreys County	8,539	42.5	1,063	33	12,448.8	386.5
79	Lincoln County	34,432	40.2	4,400	118	12,778.8	342.7
80	Washington County	47,086	37.8	5,846	141	12,415.6	299.5
81	Tallahatchie County	14,361	34.8	1,910	45	13,299.9	313.3
82	Tate County	28,493	28.0	3,630	88	12,740.0	308.8

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.