City · Chickasaw County, Mississippi

Okolona, Mississippi

Okolona is a city in Chickasaw County, Mississippi. It has 2,430 residents. Okolona, Mississippi has a quality-of-life score of 4 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,091 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Mississippi it ranks #135 of 194 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), public libraries (high) and depression (low). It ranks worst on average weekly wage (low), restaurants and bars (low) and median household income (low).

4Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,091 of 15,651 cities and towns
Mississippi: #135 of 194 in MS
Population: 2,430 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 338.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 2853680

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.

Safety2#15,395/15,637
Economy2#15,323/15,631
Housing47#8,004/14,977
Health6#14,732/15,609
Healthcare6#14,678/15,650
Environment48#7,967/15,453
Education44#8,751/15,649
Infrastructure1#15,438/15,650
Community10#14,016/15,651
Leisure & amenities10#14,057/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Okolona, Mississippi ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Chickasaw 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 · low0.29%
97/100Mississippi 0.58%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Public libraries · high1.8 /10k
89/100Mississippi 0.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesChickasaw County value
Depression · low18.6%
88/100Mississippi 20.1%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Grocery stores · high2.4 /10k
86/100Mississippi 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsChickasaw County value
Students per teacher · low12.0×
83/100Mississippi 13.4×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsChickasaw County value
Math scores · high3.29
83/100Mississippi 3.11United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChickasaw County value

Weaknesses

Average weekly wage · low$759
0/100Mississippi $1,024United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsChickasaw County value
Restaurants and bars · low1.8 /10k
0/100Mississippi 7.1 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsChickasaw County value
Median household income · low$26,042
1/100Mississippi $59,301United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Child poverty rate · high73.5%
1/100Mississippi 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Poverty rate · high43.2%
1/100Mississippi 17.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100Mississippi 14.0United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationChickasaw County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,605 (2015-2019) → 2,430 (2020-2024)
−6.7%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateWorsening
35.4% (2015-2019) → 73.5% (2020-2024)
+38 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
59.6% (2015-2019) → 80.2% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
27.0% (2015-2019) → 43.2% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Unemployment rateWorsening
5.4% (2015-2019) → 13.8% (2020-2024)
+8.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.7× (2015-2019) → 3.5× (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Okolona, Mississippi improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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.

Improved2

Broadband+21 points59.6% → 80.2%
Property tax−0.4 points0.71% → 0.29%

Declined2

Child poverty+38 points35.4% → 73.5%
Poverty+16 points27.0% → 43.2%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Okolona, Mississippi between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.7 min2015-2019	22.7 min2020-2024	−1.9 min	Within the margin of error	70%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.0%2015-2019	8.6%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Broadband subscriptions	59.6%2015-2019	80.2%2020-2024	+21 points	Improved	91%
Child poverty rate	35.4%2015-2019	73.5%2020-2024	+38 points	Declined	1%
Effective property tax rate	0.71%2015-2019	0.29%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Improved	86%
High school diploma or higher	78.0%2015-2019	80.1%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	+0.8×	Within the margin of error	29%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4892015-2019	0.4922020-2024	+0.003	Within the margin of error	48%
Median household income	$24,9322015-2019	$26,0422020-2024	+4.5%	Within the margin of error	11%
Poverty rate	27.0%2015-2019	43.2%2020-2024	+16 points	Declined	1%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.7%2015-2019	25.8%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Rent-burdened households	39.9%2015-2019	41.9%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.8%2015-2019	17.7%2020-2024	+5.9 points	Within the margin of error	8%

“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 Okolona, Mississippi five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Okolona, 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, Okolona, Mississippi itself moved +2.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

2,430 residents (±393)

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

1,124 households (±168)

Okolona, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $25k48%542
$25k–50k27%†306
$50k–75k10%†117

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,124 households (±168)

Okolona, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Own43%482
Rent57%642

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−16.3 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

800 workers (±206)

Okolona, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Drive alone90%717
Carpool4.3%†34
Public transit0.0%0

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 Chickasaw County, the county holding most of Okolona's residents.

Chickasaw County has 318 employer establishments, 189 for every 10,000 residents (0.76× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Mississippi's), with 4,805 paid employees at an average annual pay of $36,931. The Census Bureau also counts 1,354 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 318; 1,354 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 189; US 248 · Mississippi 205
Paid employees: 4,805
Average annual pay: $36,931; US $68,342

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

Gasoline stations	20	11.9	3.67×More than typical	151	$20,649	—
Truck transportation	20	11.9	2.35×More than typical	100	$50,970	115
Ambulatory health care services	19	11.3	0.54×Fewer than typical	105	$55,714	42
Religious organizations	18	10.7	1.93×More than typical	61	$14,574	—
Restaurants and other eating places	16	9.5	0.52×Fewer than typical	223	$15,399	13
Specialty trade contractors	12	7.1	0.46×Fewer than typical	123	$51,813	119
General merchandise stores	11	6.5	3.70×More than typical	180	$25,606	6
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	8	4.8	2.72×Too few to compare	37	$24,730	3
Banks and credit unions	8	4.8	1.47×Too few to compare	75	$58,587	—
Grocery and convenience stores	8	4.8	1.60×Too few to compare	156	$19,327	5
Limited-service restaurants	8	4.8	0.59×Too few to compare	195	$14,297	3
Insurance agencies and brokerages	7	4.2	0.95×Too few to compare	16	$35,563	33

Rank places for an industry Open Chickasaw County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 16,813 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: Okolona is mostly in Chickasaw County.

See federal money in Chickasaw 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.

Okolona, 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.

Chickasaw County6100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Chickasaw 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/2853680

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends