Tupelo, MS

Micro Area Profile

132,254 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Tupelo, MS micropolitan area.

60out of 100
Area Score
Top 39% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity448th of 835 metro and micro areas measured49
SchoolsTop 20% of 695 metro and micro areas measured74
Growth581st of 834 metro and micro areas measured39
Housing affordabilityTop 45% of 835 metro and micro areas measured75
ClimateTop 33% of 835 metro and micro areas measured71
Physical resilienceTop 31% of 835 metro and micro areas measured68
Access672nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured60
Economic stability577th of 835 metro and micro areas measured34
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.5% and median household income $63,170, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

Public schools test above most of the state: 52% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 20% of published profiles for schools.

176 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 7% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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
132,254
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$63,170
Bottom 38% nationally
Density
95/sq mi
1,397.7 sq mi of land
Median age
37.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Mississippi
Nearest major airport
GTR
65 mi · Golden Triangle Rgnl
Median home value
$170,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.5%, lower than in 77% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 1.9% over the past year, to 56,303 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,4762024 ACS 5-Year$63,170Bottom 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,8492024 ACS 5-Year$33,987Bottom 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year14.6%Bottom 35%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year24.0 minTop 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year24.6%Bottom 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year86.0%98th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202656,303Top 41%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.0%Bottom 41%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.9%Bottom 25%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202658,36159th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year75.9%Bottom 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%19th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.7%Top 20%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.5%Top 23%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%13th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.21.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.5% in July 2026. It has been falling, 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.

52% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 46% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.9 students for every full-time teacher across 46 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
55
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.9
across 46 of them
Math proficiency
52.0%
Top 21% in Mississippi
Reading proficiency
46.0%
Top 37% in Mississippi
The 12 largest of 55 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Tupelo High SchoolTupelo Public School District2,12314.032%44%
Itawamba Attendance CenterItawamba County1,12915.961%47%
Tupelo Middle SchoolTupelo Public School District1,07014.161%45%
Saltillo High SchoolLee County93914.046%52%
Mantachie Attendance CenterItawamba County92612.349%49%
Mooreville Elementary SchoolLee County72214.766%57%
Saltillo Primary SchoolLee County70415.6——
Saltillo Elementary SchoolLee County69613.946%56%
Guntown Middle SchoolLee County67412.358%37%
Wheeler High SchoolPrentiss County School District57711.357%49%
Lawhon Elementary SchoolTupelo Public School District57514.460%57%
Itawamba Agricultural High SchoolItawamba County55513.262%32%

67.2% 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 $1,231 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.72% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $994, some 13% above the $878 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $994 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $39,800 a year, about 63% of the median household income here of $63,170.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $878 a month.

A median home at $170,600 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $77,759, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
29.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$994
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$878
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$170,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Tupelo’s median household income of $63,170, 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 ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year73.5%73rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±712024 ACS 5-Year59,24365th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$852Top 41%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,257Top 20%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$994Top 29%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$282024 ACS 5-Year$878Top 29%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,5442024 ACS 5-Year$170,60029th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$412024 ACS 5-Year$1,23122nd percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,2832024 ACS 5-Year$77,759Bottom 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.72%40th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year29.0%Bottom 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1542024 ACS 5-Year25620th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%7th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year12.1%86th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±6462024 ACS 5-Year7,43866th 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

39/ 100
Ranks 581 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, 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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 132,699 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 176 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 3% are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
176
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.3
Bottom 26% nationally
Year over year
+7%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
2.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024133k132k
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 holding roughly steady, 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 92°F and January a low of 34°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 57.7 inches, including 1.5 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station TUPELO RGNL AP, 17.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals57.7"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals1.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals34°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

68 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 29% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

EarthquakeElevated
TornadoModerate
LandslideModerate
HurricaneModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, heat wave, lightning, ice storm, strong wind, inland flooding, hail, drought, wildfire, winter weather, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, 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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Golden Triangle Rgnl at 65 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.3%Bottom 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle65 miBottom 21%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 16%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year11.1%Bottom 24%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Golden Triangle RgnlGTR65 mi8,003 ft
Frederick W Smith Intl/MemphisMEM95 mi11,120 ft
Huntsville Intl-Carl T Jones FldHSV100 mi10,001 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
60
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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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