City · Lee County, Mississippi

Nettleton, Mississippi

Nettleton is a city in Lee County, Mississippi, part of the Tupelo, MS metro area. It has 1,853 residents. Nettleton, Mississippi has a quality-of-life score of 14 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,398 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Mississippi it ranks #75 of 194 cities and towns. It ranks best on mental health providers (high), child care cost burden (low) and primary care physicians (high). It ranks worst on rent as share of income (high), bachelor's degree or higher (low) and firearm deaths (high).

14Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,398 of 15,651 cities and towns
Mississippi: #75 of 194 in MS
Population: 1,853 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 460.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 2850880

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety12#13,743/15,637
Economy15#13,321/15,631
Housing34#9,897/14,977
Health8#14,420/15,609
Healthcare48#8,124/15,650
Environment58#6,495/15,453
Education38#9,752/15,649
Infrastructure3#15,131/15,650
Community9#14,198/15,651
Leisure & amenities67#5,139/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Mental health providers · high912 /100k
99/100Mississippi 243 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLee County value
Child care cost burden · low18.3%
98/100Mississippi 25.5%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLee County value
Primary care physicians · high134 /100k
96/100Mississippi 56 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLee County value
Social associations · high13.9 /10k
86/100Mississippi 12.6 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLee County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLee County value
New business applications · high18.3 /1k
84/100Mississippi 17.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauLee County value

Weaknesses

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
Bachelor's degree or higher · low6.4%
3/100Mississippi 25.1%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003High uncertainty
Firearm deaths · high27.8 /100k
4/100Mississippi 25.8 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLee County value
Child poverty rate · high8.4%
5/100Mississippi 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Primary care shortage · high18.0
5/100Mississippi 16.2United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLee County value
Physical inactivity · high36.9%
6/100Mississippi 35.7%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,293 (2015-2019) → 1,853 (2020-2024)
−19%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
1.0 /1k (2021) → 5.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+456%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
51.1% (2015-2019) → 76.1% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
30.5% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
66.6% (2015-2019) → 84.4% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
20.0% (2015-2019) → 8.4% (2020-2024)
−12 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, Nettleton, Mississippi improved on 2 of 9 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.

Improved2

Uninsured−11 points26.2% → 14.7%
Broadband+18 points66.6% → 84.4%

Declined1

Rent / income+21 points30.5% → 51.0%

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Nettleton, Mississippi between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.5 min2015-2019	26.8 min2020-2024	+8.3 min	Within the margin of error	4%
Broadband subscriptions	66.6%2015-2019	84.4%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	86%
High school diploma or higher	75.8%2015-2019	77.4%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4012015-2019	0.4582020-2024	+0.057	Within the margin of error	14%
Poverty rate	19.5%2015-2019	20.8%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	30.5%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+21 points	Declined	2%
Rent-burdened households	51.1%2015-2019	76.1%2020-2024	+25 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	26.2%2015-2019	14.7%2020-2024	−11 points	Improved	97%

“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 Nettleton, Mississippi five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Nettleton, 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, Nettleton, Mississippi itself moved −24.5 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

1,853 residents (±363)

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

780 households (±173)

Nettleton, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $25k34%†268
$25k–50k18%†138
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

780 households (±173)

Nettleton, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Own72%558
Rent28%†222

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

714 workers (±198)

Nettleton, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Drive alone80%†569
Carpool10%†72
Public transit

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 Lee County, the county holding most of Nettleton's residents.

Lee County has 2,550 employer establishments, 307 for every 10,000 residents (1.24× the US rate of 248; 1.50× Mississippi's), with 47,607 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,770. The Census Bureau also counts 8,181 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,550; 8,181 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 307; US 248 · Mississippi 205
Paid employees: 47,607
Average annual pay: $50,770; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	233	28.1	1.35×More than typical	2,811	$77,177	387
Restaurants and other eating places	211	25.4	1.39×More than typical	4,621	$17,462	49
Limited-service restaurants	95	11.5	1.43×More than typical	2,285	$14,825	13
Religious organizations	91	11	1.98×More than typical	689	$25,402	—
Full-service restaurants	85	10.2	1.33×More than typical	2,105	$20,361	23
Offices of physicians	81	9.8	1.51×More than typical	1,217	$107,262	105
Specialty trade contractors	74	8.9	0.58×Fewer than typical	688	$54,666	475
Lessors of real estate	73	8.8	0.71×Fewer than typical	189	$45,143	692
Banks and credit unions	72	8.7	2.69×More than typical	1,448	$90,739	—
Clothing and accessories stores	72	8.7	2.39×More than typical	883	$17,314	127
Gasoline stations	67	8.1	2.49×More than typical	499	$24,066	10
Legal services	64	7.7	1.43×More than typical	264	$74,326	62

Rank places for an industry Open Lee County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 82,938 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Lee 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.

Nettleton, 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.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Tupelo, MS30

Other cities and towns in Lee 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/2850880

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends