Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetMS-ARCOLA-MS · Arcola, MS 160 pop · income 2nd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Arcola
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Arcola on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Louise · lowest
21,447
Louise · lowest
21,447 median HH income
14.5% of the leader · rank #1
Caguas zona u… · near
26,649
Caguas zona u… · near
26,649 median HH income
18.0% of the leader · rank #2
Mountain Gate · near
26,655
Mountain Gate · near
26,655 median HH income
18.0% of the leader · rank #3
Loreauville · near
26,656
Loreauville · near
26,656 median HH income
18.0% of the leader · rank #4
Arcola · this city
26,667
Arcola · this city
26,667 median HH income
18.0% of the leader · rank #5
Franklin · near
26,667
Franklin · near
26,667 median HH income
18.0% of the leader · rank #6
Hartly · highest
148,153
Hartly · highest
148,153 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Arcola on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 160.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Arcola lands in the 2nd percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
2nd
percentile, household income
0th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Arcola, MS
160 people live in Arcola, Mississippi - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Arcola report a median income of $26,667 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 50.0%. The median resident age is 37.0 years. About 14.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 31.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Arcola (No Permits), per Census BPS data.
Living costs in Mississippi run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Mississippi scores 87.0 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $924 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Mississippi run around $223, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 50.9 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Arcola's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to population change to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Arcola, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Arcola?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within Mississippi, the closest population matches are Marietta (159 residents, $58,750 income); Ovett (161 residents); Silver City (159 residents). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Anderson, AK (160 residents); Alicia, AR (160 residents); Sunset, AR (160 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -27 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -8.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
What does the journey to work look like in Arcola?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 87.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 50.0% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.0 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Mississippi average
F
City profile score · Arcola, MS
28/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A+
87.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share F
14.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$26,667
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
50.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Arcola profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 97/100 (A+) · 87.0 index
Bachelor's+ share: 18/100 (F) · 14.1%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $26,667
Poverty rate: 0/100 (F) · 50.0%
How does Arcola compare to other US cities?
Arcola measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income2% higher than other cities
Median rent0% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Arcola against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Mississippi only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Mississippi-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Arcola near the bottom of Mississippi's cities
Among the 395 Mississippi cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Arcola ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Arcola only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#310 of 345
10th percentile in Mississippi
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 395
0th percentile in Mississippi
Poverty Rate
#19 of 393
95th percentile in Mississippi
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#237 of 394
39th percentile in Mississippi
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Mississippi only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
2nd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Income distribution context
$26,667Arcola, MS median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Arcola, MS median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Arcola, MS.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)50.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)31.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
160
Median Income
$26,667
Median Home Value
N/A
Median Age
37.0
Poverty Rate
50.0%
Labor force participation
31.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.1%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Arcola's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
303 residents
2021
297 residents
2022
289 residents
2023
285 residents
2024
281 residents
2025
276 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
87.9%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
6.1%
Work from Home
6.1%
Based on 33 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Mississippi statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $223
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Mississippi at $223 (electricity about $135 , water and sewer about $38 ).
These are Mississippi statewide averages, not a meter reading for Arcola. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Mississippi's BEA cost-of-living index is 87.0 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Arcola is $924/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Mississippi statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 50.9 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Mississippi statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Arcola sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Arcola compares to similar-size Mississippi cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.