Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety20#12,521/15,637
Economy7#14,545/15,631
Housing41#8,843/14,977
Health13#13,574/15,609
Healthcare7#14,497/15,650
Environment15#13,120/15,453
Education18#12,878/15,649
Infrastructure7#14,520/15,650
Community9#14,247/15,651
Leisure & amenities3#15,222/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Coldwater, Mississippi ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Tate County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Home price to income ratio · low2.1×
90/100Mississippi 3.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Depression · low18.1%
90/100Mississippi 20.1%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Social associations · high14.1 /10k
88/100Mississippi 12.6 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTate County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.54%
85/100Mississippi 0.58%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Time spent in the emergency room · low125 min
85/100Mississippi 138 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesTate County value
Pharmacies · high2.1 /10k
77/100Mississippi 2.2 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTate County value

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.0 /10k
0/100Mississippi 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTate County value
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Mississippi 30.7%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Child poverty rate · high47.1%
2/100Mississippi 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Average weekly wage · low$868
3/100Mississippi $1,024United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTate County value
Primary care physicians · low18 /100k
3/100Mississippi 56 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTate County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Mississippi 2.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyTate County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
1,812 (2015-2019) → 1,156 (2020-2024)
−36%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
38.6% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
66.0% (2015-2019) → 75.2% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
71.6% (2015-2019) → 62.9% (2020-2024)
−8.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateWorsening
25.8% (2015-2019) → 33.7% (2020-2024)
+7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
39.7% (2015-2019) → 47.1% (2020-2024)
+7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Coldwater, Mississippi improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Rent / income+12 points38.6% → 51.0%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Coldwater, Mississippi between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.2 min2015-2019	24.2 min2020-2024	−1.0 min	Within the margin of error	60%
Broadband subscriptions	66.0%2015-2019	75.2%2020-2024	+9.2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Child poverty rate	39.7%2015-2019	47.1%2020-2024	+7.4 points	Within the margin of error	16%
High school diploma or higher	75.6%2015-2019	80.6%2020-2024	+5 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	67%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4182015-2019	0.5042020-2024	+0.086	Within the margin of error	6%
Median household income	$40,0522015-2019	$44,0542020-2024	+10%	Within the margin of error	17%
Poverty rate	25.8%2015-2019	33.7%2020-2024	+7.9 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Rent as share of income	38.6%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+12 points	Declined	6%
Rent-burdened households	71.6%2015-2019	62.9%2020-2024	−8.7 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	22.8%2015-2019	17.2%2020-2024	−5.6 points	Within the margin of error	89%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Coldwater, Mississippi five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Coldwater, Mississippi in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Coldwater, Mississippi itself moved −5.4 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,156 residents (±316)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 50–59 women (−6.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,156 residents (±316)

Coldwater, Mississippi
Mississippi share

White18%†204
Black78%†897
Hispanic or Latino0.3%†

Education

840 residents (±215)

Coldwater, Mississippi
Mississippi share

No high school diploma19%†163
High school or GED46%†384
Some college17%

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

484 households (±135)

Coldwater, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $25k35%†170
$25k–50k18%†86
$50k–75k17%†84
$75k–100k19%†92
$100k–150k8.7%†42
$150k–200k0.0%0
$200k or more2.1%†10

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $75k–100k (+10.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

484 households (±135)

Coldwater, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Own61%†297
Rent39%†187

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

159 households (±71)

Coldwater, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $75049%†78
$750–1,0006.3%†10
$1,000–1,50045%†71

Home values

297 homes (±104)

Coldwater, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $150k75%†224
$150k–250k21%†62
$250k–400k3.7%†11

Age of homes

596 homes (±143)

Coldwater, Mississippi
Mississippi share

2010 or later7.0%†42
2000–20099.4%†56
1980–199931%†182

Size of homes

596 homes (±143)

Coldwater, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Studio2.3%†14
1 bedroom4.2%†25
2 bedrooms13%†78

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

464 workers (±145)

Coldwater, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Drive alone85%†394
Carpool14%†63
Public transit0.0%0
Walk1.5%†7
Bike0.0%0
Work from home0.0%0
Other0.0%0

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

464 workers (±145)

Coldwater, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under 15 min37%†173
15–29 min22%†103
30–44 min20%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Tate County, the county holding most of Coldwater's residents.

Tate County has 389 employer establishments, 137 for every 10,000 residents (0.55× the US rate of 248; 0.67× Mississippi's), with 3,941 paid employees at an average annual pay of $36,705. The Census Bureau also counts 2,615 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 389; 2,615 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 137; US 248 · Mississippi 205
Paid employees: 3,941
Average annual pay: $36,705; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Tate County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	45	15.8	0.86×About typical	661	$15,266	11
Religious organizations	40	14.1	2.54×More than typical	378	$20,378	—
Limited-service restaurants	25	8.8	1.10×About typical	500	$13,878	8
Ambulatory health care services	24	8.4	0.41×Fewer than typical	399	$58,226	92
Specialty trade contractors	19	6.7	0.43×Fewer than typical	83	$42,687	371
General merchandise stores	12	4.2	2.39×More than typical	342	$28,640	10
Truck transportation	12	4.2	0.84×About typical	75	$52,147	132
Banks and credit unions	11	3.9	1.20×About typical	82	$53,171	—
Gasoline stations	11	3.9	1.19×About typical	74	$23,392	4
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	3.5	0.70×Fewer than typical	77	$35,948	87
Snack and non-alcoholic beverage bars	10	3.5	1.39×More than typical	64	$11,422	—
Full-service restaurants	9	3.2	0.41×Too few to compare	87	$26,460	—

Rank places for an industry Open Tate County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 28,403 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Coldwater, Mississippi: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

317.5FY2017
2.4KFY2018
3KFY2020
1.9KFY2021
16KFY2022
1KFY2023
282.8FY2024
5.6KFY2025

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Coldwater, Mississippi, so they do not add up across cities.

Coldwater, Mississippi's figures are part of those of Tate County, MS ($1.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Coldwater is mostly in Tate County.

See federal money in Tate County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Coldwater, Mississippi is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Trent KellyR-MS-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.7%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Tate County9100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Memphis, TN-MS-AR15

Other cities and towns in Tate County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2814900