Cleveland, MS

Micro Area Profile

29,534 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Cleveland, MS micropolitan area.

40out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 6% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity737th of 835 metro and micro areas measured28
Schools585th of 695 metro and micro areas measured22
Growth709th of 834 metro and micro areas measured29
Housing affordability640th of 835 metro and micro areas measured66
ClimateTop 30% of 835 metro and micro areas measured72
Physical resilience696th of 835 metro and micro areas measured28
AccessTop 28% of 835 metro and micro areas measured89
Economic stability814th of 835 metro and micro areas measured7
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 5.3% and the Opportunity signal places Cleveland in the bottom 12%.

In the public schools here, 28% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.9 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 33% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.5 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
29,534
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$39,585
Bottom 2% nationally
Density
34/sq mi
876.5 sq mi of land
Median age
37.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Mississippi
Nearest major airport
GLH
22 mi · Greenville Mid-Delta
Median home value
$130,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.3% — higher than in all but 18% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 1.4% over the past year, to 10,029 employed residents.

Median household income of $39,585 is lower than in 98% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$4,8602024 ACS 5-Year$39,585Bottom 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,9602024 ACS 5-Year$25,454Bottom 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year31.9%Bottom 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.3 minTop 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year28.0%Top 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year86.1%98th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202610,029Bottom 3%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.5%Bottom 46%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.4%Bottom 33%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202610,5923rd percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year62.6%Bottom 3%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%17th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.9%Top 13%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.3%Bottom 18%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year2.4%1st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/077.92.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.3% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

28% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 28% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.9 students for every full-time teacher across 15 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
18
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.9
across 15 of them
Math proficiency
28.4%
Bottom 16% in Mississippi
Reading proficiency
28.2%
Bottom 16% in Mississippi
The 12 largest of 18 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Cleveland Central High SchoolCleveland School District79917.827%30%
Cleveland Central Middle SchoolCleveland School District42316.923%24%
Northside High SchoolNorth Bolivar Consolidated37012.312%17%
Bell AcademyCleveland School District32718.242%42%
Hayes Cooper CenterCleveland School District30415.277%72%
Parks Elementary SchoolCleveland School District26516.634%34%
Nailor Elementary SchoolCleveland School District25619.7——
West Bolivar ElementaryWest Bolivar Consolidated School District24213.432%32%
D.M. Smith ElementaryCleveland School District23312.916%12%
West Bolivar High SchoolWest Bolivar Consolidated School District22710.8——
McEvans Elementary SchoolWest Bolivar Consolidated School District20412.89%18%
Shaw High SchoolWest Bolivar Consolidated School District20011.825%5%

99.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Mississippi’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $950 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.73% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $842, some 23% above the $685 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $842 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $33,700 a year, about 85% of the median household income here of $39,585.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $685 a month.

A median home at $130,000 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $53,046, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
33.3%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$842
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$685
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$130,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Cleveland’s median household income of $39,585, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.5Top 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year62.6%15th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±522024 ACS 5-Year13,67310th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$642Top 1%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,096Top 2%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$842Top 2%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$492024 ACS 5-Year$685Top 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,5962024 ACS 5-Year$130,0009th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1002024 ACS 5-Year$95012th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,3322024 ACS 5-Year$53,046Bottom 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year0.73%42nd percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year33.3%Bottom 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±872024 ACS 5-Year20216th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.5%41st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year11.4%81st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2762024 ACS 5-Year1,75815th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

29/ 100
Ranks 709 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 8% since 2020, to 28,395 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 17 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
17
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.6
Bottom 9% nationally
Year over year
+21%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202431k28k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 35°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 49.0 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station GREENVILLE ASOS, 22.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals49.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals35°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

28 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 47% of it.

EarthquakeElevated
DroughtModerate
TornadoHigh
Ice stormModerate
Inland floodingElevated
HurricaneModerate
Strong windModerate
Cold waveModerate
LightningModerate
LandslideModerate
Winter weatherModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, hail, wildfire, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Greenville Mid-Delta at 22 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year77.9%Bottom 3%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle22 miTop 27%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year16.8%Bottom 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Greenville Mid-DeltaGLH22 mi8,001 ft
Tunica MuniUTA68 mi8,500 ft
Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams FldLIT100 mi8,273 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
40
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

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