Town · Lawrence County, Mississippi

Monticello, Mississippi

Monticello is a town in Lawrence County, Mississippi. It has 1,351 residents. Monticello, Mississippi has a quality-of-life score of 2 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,342 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Mississippi it ranks #158 of 194 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), students per teacher (low) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on arts, entertainment and recreation (low), restaurants and bars (low) and dental care shortage (high).

2Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,342 of 15,651 cities and towns
Mississippi: #158 of 194 in MS
Population: 1,351 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 323.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2848560

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 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.

Safety1#15,433/15,637
Economy3#15,140/15,631
Housing42#8,689/14,977
Health6#14,721/15,609
Healthcare5#14,879/15,650
Environment15#13,192/15,453
Education32#10,605/15,649
Infrastructure5#14,920/15,650
Community38#9,733/15,651
Leisure & amenities4#15,000/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Social associations · high19.6 /10k
98/100Mississippi 12.6 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLawrence County value
Students per teacher · low11.5×
90/100Mississippi 13.4×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsLawrence County value
Public libraries · high1.7 /10k
88/100Mississippi 0.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesLawrence County value
Child care cost burden · low24.3%
78/100Mississippi 25.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLawrence County value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Mississippi 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLawrence County value
Comfortable days · high28.2%
69/100Mississippi 26.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLawrence County value

Weaknesses

Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.0 /10k
1/100Mississippi 3.1 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLawrence County value
Restaurants and bars · low2.5 /10k
1/100Mississippi 7.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLawrence County value
Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100Mississippi 14.0United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLawrence County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.567
2/100Mississippi 0.482United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Homicide rate · high15.5 /100k
2/100Mississippi 14.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataLawrence County value
Child poverty rate · high33.3%
3/100Mississippi 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
47.0% (2015-2019) → 81.1% (2020-2024)
+34 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
50.0% (2015-2019) → 34.9% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
32.5% (2015-2019) → 19.1% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
30.7% (2015-2019) → 17.5% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
13.2% (2015-2019) → 6.2% (2020-2024)
−7 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Unemployment rateWorsening
3.9% (2015-2019) → 9.8% (2020-2024)
+5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Monticello, Mississippi improved on 1 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 6 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.

Improved1

Broadband+34 points47.0% → 81.1%

Declined1

Bachelor's+−13 points30.7% → 17.5%

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Monticello, Mississippi between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Bachelor's degree or higher	30.7%2015-2019	17.5%2020-2024	−13 points	Declined	1%
Broadband subscriptions	47.0%2015-2019	81.1%2020-2024	+34 points	Improved	99%
Effective property tax rate	0.54%2015-2019	0.85%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	1%
High school diploma or higher	89.5%2015-2019	86.2%2020-2024	−3.3 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5022015-2019	0.5672020-2024	+0.065	Within the margin of error	11%
Poverty rate	26.3%2015-2019	25.4%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent-burdened households	50.0%2015-2019	34.9%2020-2024	−15 points	Within the margin of error	89%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 10944 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 Monticello, Mississippi five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Monticello, 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, Monticello, Mississippi itself moved −9.2 points in standing on average over the same 6 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

1,351 residents (±408)

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

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 B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,351 residents (±408)

Monticello, Mississippi
Mississippi share

White64%†863
Black32%†430
Hispanic or Latino1.1%†

Education

896 residents (±266)

Monticello, Mississippi
Mississippi share

No high school diploma14%†124
High school or GED35%†311
Some college20%

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

513 households (±147)

Monticello, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $25k43%†223
$25k–50k16%†80
$50k–75k7.2%†37
$75k–100k7.0%†36
$100k–150k13%†65
$150k–200k5.8%†30
$200k or more8.2%†42

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 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

513 households (±147)

Monticello, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Own62%†318
Rent38%†195

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

189 households (±92)

Monticello, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $75067%†126
$750–1,00027%†51
$1,000–1,5006.3%†

Home values

318 homes (±106)

Monticello, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $150k72%†228
$150k–250k28%†90
$250k–400k0.0%0

Age of homes

716 homes (±147)

Monticello, Mississippi
Mississippi share

2010 or later0.0%0
2000–20092.5%†18
1980–199923%†165

Size of homes

716 homes (±147)

Monticello, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Studio0.4%†3
1 bedroom2.5%†18
2 bedrooms27%†191

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

436 workers (±174)

Monticello, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Drive alone91%†397
Carpool8.9%†39
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
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

436 workers (±174)

Monticello, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under 15 min40%†175
15–29 min8.5%†37
30–44 min26%†

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

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 Lawrence County, the county holding most of Monticello's residents.

Lawrence County has 182 employer establishments, 155 for every 10,000 residents (0.62× the US rate of 248; 0.75× Mississippi's), with 2,018 paid employees at an average annual pay of $58,254. The Census Bureau also counts 877 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 182; 877 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 155; US 248 · Mississippi 205
Paid employees: 2,018
Average annual pay: $58,254; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	20	17	3.07×More than typical	68	$15,265	—
Ambulatory health care services	18	15.3	0.74×Fewer than typical	79	$57,722	46
Restaurants and other eating places	9	7.7	0.42×Too few to compare	88	$13,659	5
Truck transportation	8	6.8	1.35×Too few to compare	56	$65,946	43
Gasoline stations	7	6	1.84×Too few to compare	45	$22,689	—
General merchandise stores	6	5.1	2.89×Too few to compare	42	$24,429	—
Offices of physicians	6	5.1	0.79×Too few to compare	26	$81,577	6
Automotive repair and maintenance	5	4.3	0.85×Too few to compare	13	$20,692	26
Individual and family services	5	4.3	1.52×Too few to compare	31	$30,677	7
Limited-service restaurants	5	4.3	0.53×Too few to compare	62	$12,952	5
Management, scientific and technical consulting	5	4.3	0.64×Too few to compare	5	$52,400	14
Offices of other health practitioners	5	4.3	0.70×Too few to compare	20	$35,500	3

Rank places for an industry Open Lawrence County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 11,735 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 $1,013 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Monticello, Mississippi: $0.75 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $1,013
Per resident: $0.75; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Department of Veterans Affairs$1,013100%

Top recipients

SUPERIOR OPTICAL LABS, INC$1,013100%

Spending by fiscal year

30.3FY2017
22.3FY2024
1KFY2026

What was bought

Health & medical$1,013100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$1,013100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 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 Monticello, Mississippi, so they do not add up across cities.

Monticello, Mississippi's figures are part of those of Lawrence County, MS ($35.6K in FY2026), never added to them: 2.8% of that total.

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

See federal money in Lawrence 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.

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

House

Michael GuestR-MS-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 1.3%

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.

Lawrence County1100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Lawrence 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

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