City · Itawamba County, Mississippi

Fulton, Mississippi

Fulton is a city in Itawamba County, Mississippi, part of the Tupelo, MS metro area. It has 4,576 residents. Fulton, Mississippi has a quality-of-life score of 20 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,539 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Mississippi it ranks #58 of 194 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), homicide rate (low) and students per teacher (low). It ranks worst on child poverty rate (high), average weekly wage (low) and primary care shortage (high).

20Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,539 of 15,651 cities and towns
Mississippi: #58 of 194 in MS
Population: 4,576 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 538.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2826300

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

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

Safety49#8,032/15,637
Economy10#14,127/15,631
Housing63#5,609/14,977
Health28#11,212/15,609
Healthcare4#15,014/15,650
Environment70#4,687/15,453
Education56#6,963/15,649
Infrastructure22#12,212/15,650
Community5#14,925/15,651
Leisure & amenities13#13,606/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Fulton, Mississippi ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Itawamba 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

Effective property tax rate · low0.30%
97/100Mississippi 0.58%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Mississippi 14.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataItawamba County value
Students per teacher · low11.4×
92/100Mississippi 13.4×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsItawamba County value
Child care cost burden · low21.3%
91/100Mississippi 25.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteItawamba County value
Drought exposure · low11%
80/100Mississippi 43%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAItawamba County value
Natural hazard risk · low14.4
77/100Mississippi 53.82025Federal Emergency Management AgencyItawamba County value

Weaknesses

Child poverty rate · high34.5%
2/100Mississippi 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Average weekly wage · low$854
3/100Mississippi $1,024United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsItawamba County value
Primary care shortage · high19.0
3/100Mississippi 16.2United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationItawamba County value
Mental health providers · low37 /100k
3/100Mississippi 243 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteItawamba County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Mississippi 2.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyItawamba County value
Dentists · low21 /100k
5/100Mississippi 52 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteItawamba County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
4,016 (2015-2019) → 4,576 (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
0.7 /1k (2021) → 1.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+135%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.7% (2015-2019) → 90.7% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$30,974 (2015-2019) → $52,727 (2020-2024)
+70%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
83.0% (2015-2019) → 92.9% (2020-2024)
+9.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
41.0% (2015-2019) → 32.8% (2020-2024)
−8.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Fulton, Mississippi improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 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.

Improved2

Household income+70%$30,974 → $52,727
Broadband+19 points71.7% → 90.7%

Declined1

Unemployment+7.9 points0.0% → 7.9%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Fulton, Mississippi between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.3 min2015-2019	21.5 min2020-2024	+2.2 min	Within the margin of error	26%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.4%2015-2019	22.6%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Broadband subscriptions	71.7%2015-2019	90.7%2020-2024	+19 points	Improved	89%
Child poverty rate	28.8%2015-2019	34.5%2020-2024	+5.6 points	Within the margin of error	19%
High school diploma or higher	83.0%2015-2019	92.9%2020-2024	+9.9 points	Within the margin of error	95%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	−0.9×	Within the margin of error	97%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4732015-2019	0.4812020-2024	+0.009	Within the margin of error	43%
Median household income	$30,9742015-2019	$52,7272020-2024	+70%	Improved	94%
Poverty rate	23.3%2015-2019	18.7%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	28.8%2015-2019	25.3%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Rent-burdened households	41.0%2015-2019	32.8%2020-2024	−8.3 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Unemployment rate	0.0%2015-2019	7.9%2020-2024	+7.9 points	Declined	1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.5%2015-2019	14.3%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	20%

“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 Fulton, Mississippi five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fulton, 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, Fulton, Mississippi itself moved +16.5 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

4,576 residents (±16)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

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

Household income

1,476 households (±184)

Fulton, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $25k21%†313
$25k–50k23%†333
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,476 households (±184)

Fulton, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Own66%974
Rent34%†502

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

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,715 workers (±201)

Fulton, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Drive alone85%1,461
Carpool6.2%†107
Public transit0.0%0

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 Tupelo, MS

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 Itawamba County, the county holding most of Fulton's residents.

Itawamba County has 400 employer establishments, 166 for every 10,000 residents (0.67× the US rate of 248; 0.81× Mississippi's), with 5,304 paid employees at an average annual pay of $41,791. The Census Bureau also counts 1,531 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 400; 1,531 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 166; US 248 · Mississippi 205
Paid employees: 5,304
Average annual pay: $41,791; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	31	12.8	0.70×Fewer than typical	448	$16,906	17
Truck transportation	26	10.8	2.13×More than typical	133	$52,835	58
Ambulatory health care services	23	9.5	0.46×Fewer than typical	200	$60,880	39
Religious organizations	23	9.5	1.72×More than typical	55	$20,618	—
Specialty trade contractors	19	7.9	0.51×Fewer than typical	363	$62,441	172
Automotive repair and maintenance	18	7.5	1.48×More than typical	108	$30,556	40
Full-service restaurants	14	5.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	170	$17,082	8
Limited-service restaurants	14	5.8	0.72×Fewer than typical	271	$17,100	6
Offices of other health practitioners	14	5.8	0.95×About typical	108	$47,861	16
General merchandise stores	10	4.1	2.34×More than typical	248	$30,125	12
Gasoline stations	9	3.7	1.15×Too few to compare	24	$24,375	6
Banks and credit unions	8	3.3	1.03×Too few to compare	42	$45,190	—

Rank places for an industry Open Itawamba County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 24,159 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 Fulton, Mississippi: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
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

NEW SOUTH ASSOCIATES, INC.$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

11.1KFY2017
395.8FY2018
-28.7FY2019
39.2FY2023
21.8KFY2024
0FY2026

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 Fulton, Mississippi, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Itawamba 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.

Fulton, 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.

Itawamba County21100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Tupelo, MS30

Other cities and towns in Itawamba 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/2826300

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends