Scores by category

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

Safety0#15,601/15,637
Economy0#15,566/15,631
Housing29#10,591/14,977
Health10#14,080/15,609
Healthcare1#15,553/15,650
Environment14#13,277/15,453
Education23#11,990/15,649
Infrastructure3#15,156/15,650
Community4#15,010/15,651
Leisure & amenities7#14,520/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Public libraries · high2.2 /10k
92/100Mississippi 0.8 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesSunflower County value
Depression · low17.5%
92/100Mississippi 20.1%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
New business applications · high16.9 /1k
78/100Mississippi 17.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauSunflower County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.5×
77/100Mississippi 3.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100Mississippi 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySunflower County value
Average commute time · low20.2 min
74/100Mississippi 25.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Firearm deaths · high57.2 /100k
0/100Mississippi 25.8 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSunflower County value
Food environment index · low4.2
0/100Mississippi 4.1United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSunflower County value
Adult obesity · high51.0%
0/100Mississippi 42.6%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Voter turnout · low42.0%
1/100Mississippi 55.1%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionSunflower County value
Homicide rate · high24.1 /100k
1/100Mississippi 14.6 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataSunflower County value
Job growth · low-6.1%
1/100Mississippi -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataSunflower County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
1.5 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
59.9% (2015-2019) → 79.7% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
71.0% (2015-2019) → 59.3% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
41.4% (2015-2019) → 32.6% (2020-2024)
−8.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
84.0% (2015-2019) → 78.2% (2020-2024)
−5.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Unemployment rateWorsening
14.8% (2015-2019) → 19.9% (2020-2024)
+5.1 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, Ruleville, Mississippi improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 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+20 points59.9% → 79.7%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Ruleville, Mississippi between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.5 min2015-2019	20.2 min2020-2024	−0.3 min	Within the margin of error	51%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.1%2015-2019	13.1%2020-2024	−3.9 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Broadband subscriptions	59.9%2015-2019	79.7%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	90%
Child poverty rate	47.8%2015-2019	42.7%2020-2024	−5 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Effective property tax rate	0.82%2015-2019	0.95%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	5%
High school diploma or higher	84.0%2015-2019	78.2%2020-2024	−5.8 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	90%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5632015-2019	0.6562020-2024	+0.093	Within the margin of error	5%
Median household income	$32,1882015-2019	$33,4802020-2024	+4%	Within the margin of error	10%
Poverty rate	34.8%2015-2019	33.9%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Rent as share of income	41.4%2015-2019	32.6%2020-2024	−8.8 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Rent-burdened households	71.0%2015-2019	59.3%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Unemployment rate	14.8%2015-2019	19.9%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.2%2015-2019	15.2%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	45%

“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 Ruleville, Mississippi five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ruleville, 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, Ruleville, Mississippi itself moved +1.5 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

2,632 residents (±441)

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

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 20–29 women (+5.3 points).

† 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

2,632 residents (±441)

Ruleville, Mississippi
Mississippi share

White8.9%†233
Black89%2,353
Hispanic or Latino1.2%†32

Education

1,637 residents (±280)

Ruleville, Mississippi
Mississippi share

No high school diploma22%†357
High school or GED43%711
Some college17%†274

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

750 households (±120)

Ruleville, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $25k43%†321
$25k–50k23%†172
$50k–75k15%†112
$75k–100k8.4%†63
$100k–150k7.9%†59
$150k–200k1.1%†8
$200k or more2.0%†15

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

750 households (±120)

Ruleville, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Own43%†324
Rent57%426

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

395 households (±94)

Ruleville, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $75062%†244
$750–1,00031%†123
$1,000–1,5003.0%†12

Home values

324 homes (±112)

Ruleville, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under $150k85%†274
$150k–250k15%†47
$250k–400k0.0%0

Age of homes

893 homes (±123)

Ruleville, Mississippi
Mississippi share

2010 or later0.7%†6
2000–20091.9%†17
1980–199937%†326

Size of homes

893 homes (±123)

Ruleville, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Studio6.6%†59
1 bedroom3.5%†31
2 bedrooms33%†299

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

922 workers (±228)

Ruleville, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Drive alone83%764
Carpool13%†124
Public transit0.0%0
Walk1.0%†9
Bike0.0%0
Work from home2.7%†25
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

897 workers (±222)

Ruleville, Mississippi
Mississippi share

Under 15 min45%†406
15–29 min33%†297
30–44 min15%†

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 Sunflower County, the county holding most of Ruleville's residents.

Sunflower County has 406 employer establishments, 170 for every 10,000 residents (0.69× the US rate of 248; 0.83× Mississippi's), with 6,028 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,351. The Census Bureau also counts 2,093 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 406; 2,093 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 170; US 248 · Mississippi 205
Paid employees: 6,028
Average annual pay: $40,351; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	28	11.7	0.64×Fewer than typical	431	$15,213	15
Ambulatory health care services	26	10.9	0.52×Fewer than typical	245	$66,535	164
Religious organizations	24	10.1	1.81×More than typical	121	$14,760	—
Truck transportation	21	8.8	1.74×More than typical	240	$63,254	110
Gasoline stations	19	8	2.46×More than typical	278	$24,442	—
Limited-service restaurants	18	7.5	0.94×About typical	338	$13,607	7
Specialty trade contractors	16	6.7	0.43×Fewer than typical	38	$37,553	99
Banks and credit unions	15	6.3	1.95×More than typical	141	$58,142	—
General merchandise stores	12	5	2.85×More than typical	284	$29,394	6
Individual and family services	11	4.6	1.65×More than typical	597	$27,789	23
Insurance agencies and brokerages	10	4.2	0.95×About typical	28	$40,679	37
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	9	3.8	2.16×Too few to compare	50	$34,880	4

Rank places for an industry Open Sunflower County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 23,858 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 Ruleville, 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

848.7FY2022
1.1KFY2023

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

Ruleville, Mississippi's figures are part of those of Sunflower County, MS ($2M 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: Ruleville is mostly in Sunflower County.

See federal money in Sunflower 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.

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

House

Bennie G. ThompsonD-MS-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 3.9%

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.

Sunflower County0100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Sunflower 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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