Cleveland, Mississippi

Area Profile

10,623 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Cleveland, in Bolivar County.

42out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 5% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity3,822nd of 4,199 cities measured33
Schools3,743rd of 4,162 cities measured18
Growth3,079th of 4,224 cities measured39
Housing affordability2,357th of 4,218 cities measured64
ClimateTop 40% of 4,225 cities measured72
Physical resilience3,282nd of 4,226 cities measured29
Access2,691st of 4,226 cities measured88
Economic stability4,136th of 4,226 cities measured19
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.3% and the Opportunity signal places Cleveland in the bottom 9%. The unemployment rate is published for Bolivar County, MS, which contains Cleveland, rather than for Cleveland alone.

In the public schools here, 24% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.9 students for every teacher.

11 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 10% 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
10,623
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$44,074
Bottom 15% nationally
Density
1,402/sq mi
7.6 sq mi of land
Median age
35.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Mississippi
Micro area
Nearest major airport
GLH
23 mi · Greenville Mid-Delta
Median home value
$159,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Bolivar County, MS, which contains Cleveland, is 5.3% — higher than in all but 17% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Bolivar County, MS, which contains Cleveland, fell 1.4% over the past year, to 10,029 employed residents.

35% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 76% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $44,074 is lower than in 85% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsBolivar County, MS’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$39,0621st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftBolivar County, MS’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$38,4421st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,3102024 ACS 5-Year$44,074Bottom 15%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,1682024 ACS 5-Year$24,650Bottom 19%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year25.9%Bottom 14%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year18.8 minTop 14%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year34.8%Top 24%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year85.8%77th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentBolivar County, MS’s figureJuly 202610,029Bottom 3%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Bolivar County, MS’s figureJuly 2026−0.5%Bottom 45%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Bolivar County, MS’s figureJuly 2026−1.4%Bottom 35%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceBolivar County, MS’s figureJuly 202610,5923rd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year63.3%Bottom 16%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Bolivar County, MS’s figureJuly 2026−0.9%Top 14%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateBolivar County, MS’s figureJuly 20265.3%Bottom 17%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%18th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202444k38k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $44,074 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Bolivar County, MS, which contains this city.

24% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 25% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.9 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.9
across 6 of them
Math proficiency
24.3%
Bottom 10% in Mississippi
Reading proficiency
25.3%
Bottom 18% in Mississippi
All 8 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Cleveland Central High SchoolCleveland School District79917.827%30%
Cleveland Central Middle SchoolCleveland School District42316.923%24%
Parks Elementary SchoolCleveland School District26516.634%34%
Nailor Elementary SchoolCleveland School District25619.7——
D.M. Smith ElementaryCleveland School District23312.916%12%
Pearman Elementary SchoolCleveland School District18616.912%12%
Alternative SchoolCleveland School District0———
Cleveland Voc Tech ComplexCleveland School District0———

99.8% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Mississippi is up 40% over five years, and up 4.2% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,185 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.74% 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, below the $943 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 76% of the median household income here of $44,074.

The typical renter household here spends 35% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $943 a month.

A median home at $159,300 costs 2.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $56,528, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
34.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$842
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$943
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$159,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Cleveland’s median household income of $44,074, 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 change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Mississippi’s figure2026 Q2+4.2%70th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Mississippi’s figure2026 Q2+40.4%42nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Mississippi’s figure2026 Q2+66.8%10th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year2.8Bottom 39%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year66.8%32nd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2852024 ACS 5-Year4,90488th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$642Top 1%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,096Top 1%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$842Top 1%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1172024 ACS 5-Year$943Top 47%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,7242024 ACS 5-Year$159,30041st percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3132024 ACS 5-Year$1,18530th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,4362024 ACS 5-Year$56,528Bottom 19%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.21%2024 ACS 5-Year0.74%33rd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±14%2024 ACS 5-Year34.6%Bottom 21%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±642024 ACS 5-Year5283rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%62nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year11.6%70th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2102024 ACS 5-Year62192nd percentileof 32,3302024 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 3,079 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 9% since 2020, to 10,183 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 12 units authorized in 2025, against 8 the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 11 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Bolivar County, which contains Cleveland, lost about 1.8% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $39,062, close to the $38,442 of households that moved out.

At 1.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
11
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.0
Bottom 27% nationally
Year over year
+10%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202411k10k
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.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
40%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$39,062
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$38,442
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Sunflower County, MS 170 people · 18% of arrivals
  2. Shelby County, TN 101 people · 11% of arrivals
  3. Washington County, MS 67 people · 7.1% of arrivals
  4. DeSoto County, MS 63 people · 6.7% of arrivals
  5. Coahoma County, MS 37 people · 3.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. DeSoto County, MS 175 people · 13% of departures
  2. Shelby County, TN 161 people · 12% of departures
  3. Sunflower County, MS 154 people · 11% of departures
  4. Washington County, MS 98 people · 7.3% of departures
  5. Coahoma County, MS 35 people · 2.6% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Bolivar County, MS. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025133.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+300%).

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.

Air quality measures a median index of 44, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station GREENVILLE ASOS, 23.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
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
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year442024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
44
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

29 / 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. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
261
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,918
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Cleveland's police department reported 261 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,918.

Bolivar County has a modeled homicide rate of about 22.4 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 11.0 per 100,000 residents in Bolivar County.

Homicide
22.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
11.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Cleveland’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Cleveland (Bolivar County) rather than Cleveland itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

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.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
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 23 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year85.5%Bottom 33%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle23 miBottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year10.6%Bottom 35%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Greenville Mid-DeltaGLH23 mi8,001 ft
Tunica MuniUTA69 mi8,500 ft
Frederick W Smith Intl/MemphisMEM99 mi11,120 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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42
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
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
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
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.

ZIP codes in Cleveland

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Cleveland with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Cleveland closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3873216,696$44,705$160,700—