City · Lamar County, Mississippi

Purvis, Mississippi

Purvis is a city in Lamar County, Mississippi, part of the Hattiesburg, MS metro area. It has 1,914 residents. Purvis, Mississippi has a quality-of-life score of 20 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,473 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Mississippi it ranks #54 of 194 cities and towns. It ranks best on math scores (high), primary care physicians (high) and dentists (high). It ranks worst on income inequality (Gini index) (high), child poverty rate (high) and average weekly wage (low).

20Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,473 of 15,651 cities and towns
Mississippi: #54 of 194 in MS
Population: 1,914 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 457.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 2860480

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety50#7,842/15,637
Economy16#13,189/15,631
Housing28#10,834/14,977
Health42#9,092/15,609
Healthcare38#9,626/15,650
Environment23#11,861/15,453
Education68#4,998/15,649
Infrastructure15#13,330/15,650
Community11#13,909/15,651
Leisure & amenities35#10,106/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Math scores · high3.47
95/100Mississippi 3.11United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLamar County value
Primary care physicians · high128 /100k
95/100Mississippi 56 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLamar County value
Dentists · high110 /100k
93/100Mississippi 52 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLamar County value
Reading scores · high3.38
93/100Mississippi 3.06United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLamar County value
Pharmacies · high2.5 /10k
90/100Mississippi 2.2 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLamar County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.49%
88/100Mississippi 0.58%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.561
1/100Mississippi 0.482United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Child poverty rate · high33.4%
3/100Mississippi 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Average weekly wage · low$858
3/100Mississippi $1,024United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLamar County value
Mental health providers · low60 /100k
7/100Mississippi 243 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLamar County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Mississippi 2.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLamar County value
Poverty rate · high22.8%
10/100Mississippi 17.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,406 (2015-2019) → 1,914 (2020-2024)
−20%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
66.7% (2015-2019) → 87.9% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedWorsening
3.0 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
51.6% (2015-2019) → 33.4% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$28,136 (2015-2019) → $45,667 (2020-2024)
+62%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
12.5% (2015-2019) → 22.4% (2020-2024)
+9.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Purvis, Mississippi improved on 3 of 14 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.

Improved3

Household income+62%$28,136 → $45,667
Broadband+21 points66.7% → 87.9%
Bachelor's++9.9 points12.5% → 22.4%

Declined1

Inequality+0.1050.456 → 0.561

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Purvis, Mississippi between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.2 min2015-2019	24.3 min2020-2024	−1.9 min	Within the margin of error	70%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.5%2015-2019	22.4%2020-2024	+9.9 points	Improved	90%
Broadband subscriptions	66.7%2015-2019	87.9%2020-2024	+21 points	Improved	92%
Child poverty rate	51.6%2015-2019	33.4%2020-2024	−18 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Effective property tax rate	0.45%2015-2019	0.49%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	12%
High school diploma or higher	87.1%2015-2019	84.2%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	87%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4562015-2019	0.5612020-2024	+0.105	Declined	4%
Median household income	$28,1362015-2019	$45,6672020-2024	+62%	Improved	92%
Poverty rate	28.7%2015-2019	22.8%2020-2024	−5.8 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	41.6%2015-2019	37.1%2020-2024	−4.5 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Rent-burdened households	61.3%2015-2019	60.8%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.8%2015-2019	10.4%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Within the margin of error	79%

“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 Purvis, Mississippi five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Purvis, 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, Purvis, Mississippi itself moved +5 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

1,914 residents (±421)

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

670 households (±138)

Purvis, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $25k33%†224
$25k–50k20%†137
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

670 households (±138)

Purvis, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Own64%427
Rent36%†243

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

764 workers (±198)

Purvis, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Drive alone96%731
Carpool2.4%†18
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 Hattiesburg, 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 Lamar County, the county holding most of Purvis's residents.

Lamar County has 1,505 employer establishments, 227 for every 10,000 residents (0.92× the US rate of 248; 1.11× Mississippi's), with 19,611 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,444. The Census Bureau also counts 5,956 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,505; 5,956 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 227; US 248 · Mississippi 205
Paid employees: 19,611
Average annual pay: $43,444; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	160	24.2	1.16×About typical	1,675	$72,351	327
Restaurants and other eating places	131	19.8	1.08×About typical	2,985	$18,646	35
Limited-service restaurants	70	10.6	1.32×More than typical	1,481	$16,942	8
Specialty trade contractors	68	10.3	0.66×Fewer than typical	432	$46,361	580
Lessors of real estate	61	9.2	0.75×Fewer than typical	307	$83,355	569
Offices of physicians	61	9.2	1.42×More than typical	882	$91,554	97
Clothing and accessories stores	55	8.3	2.29×More than typical	600	$17,998	80
Religious organizations	55	8.3	1.50×More than typical	639	$21,050	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	48	7.2	1.08×About typical	298	$25,879	422
Full-service restaurants	43	6.5	0.85×About typical	1,230	$21,768	13
Construction of buildings	41	6.2	0.82×About typical	253	$57,130	229
Insurance agencies and brokerages	40	6	1.38×More than typical	110	$42,727	133

Rank places for an industry Open Lamar County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 66,217 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 Purvis, 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

Spending by fiscal year

2.2KFY2017
2.8KFY2018
2.3KFY2019
1.3KFY2020

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

Purvis, Mississippi's figures are part of those of Lamar County, MS ($9.1M 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: Purvis is mostly in Lamar County.

See federal money in Lamar 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.

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

House

Mike EzellR-MS-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 2.1%

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.

Lamar County47100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Hattiesburg, MS34

Other cities and towns in Lamar 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/2860480

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends