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Place dossier plate
SheetMS-FAYETTE-MS · Fayette, MS 1,602 pop · income 2nd pct · 4 tracts
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 Fayette
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Fayette on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Mound Bayou · lowest
23,194
Mound Bayou · lowest
23,194 median HH income
18.1% of the leader · rank #1
Yorkshire · near
25,370
Yorkshire · near
25,370 median HH income
19.8% of the leader · rank #2
Fayette · this city
25,383
Fayette · this city
25,383 median HH income
19.8% of the leader · rank #3
Pineville · near
25,385
Pineville · near
25,385 median HH income
19.8% of the leader · rank #4
Sharpsburg · near
25,385
Sharpsburg · near
25,385 median HH income
19.8% of the leader · rank #5
Florida Gulf… · near
25,395
Florida Gulf… · near
25,395 median HH income
19.8% of the leader · rank #6
Greenville · highest
128,348
Greenville · highest
128,348 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 Fayette 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: 1,602.
Fayette ranks in the 2nd percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
2nd
percentile, household income
2nd
percentile, home value
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: Fayette, MS
Mississippi's Fayette is a small town, with 1,602 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Median household income here is $25,383 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 46.5%. Fayette's housing stock carries a median value of $73,800, and the median resident age is 35.2 years. Educational attainment runs 14.5% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 38.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Fayette (No Permits), per Census BPS data.
Living costs in Mississippi run below the national norm: the state registers 87.0 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $924 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $223 across Mississippi, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. 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 Fayette'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 population change to schools and households to housing and income to work and mobility to within-city variation to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Fayette, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Fayette growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -128 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.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 14.5% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
Which cities make useful reference points for Fayette?
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 Shaw (1,586 residents, $23,913 income); Ecru (1,566 residents, $68,500 income); Pelahatchie (1,648 residents, $52,957 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Greenville, IN (1,602 residents); El Valle de Arroyo Seco, NM (1,602 residents); Lockney, TX (1,602 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.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Fayette?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 46.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
2.9×
Home value
$73,800
Household income
$25,383
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the journey to work look like in Fayette?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.0%. 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. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Drive alone
80.0%
Work from home
17.2%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 441 workers age 16+.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 46.5% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.0 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Mississippi average
F
City profile score · Fayette, 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
14.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$25,383
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
46.5%
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).
Fayette profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 97/100 (A+) · 87.0 index
Bachelor's+ share: 19/100 (F) · 14.5%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $25,383
Poverty rate: 0/100 (F) · 46.5%
How does Fayette compare to other US cities?
Here's how Fayette stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income2% higher than other cities
Home value2% pricier 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 Fayette 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 Fayette near the bottom of Mississippi's cities
Among the 395 Mississippi cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Fayette ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Fayette only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#313 of 345
9th percentile in Mississippi
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 395
0th percentile in Mississippi
Median Home Value
#300 of 348
14th percentile in Mississippi
Poverty Rate
#23 of 393
94th percentile in Mississippi
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#233 of 394
41st 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.
How Fayette's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$73,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 98% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Fayette's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#6,177 of 15,516
More affordable than 60% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#5,295 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.9×, Fayette sits in the affordable band:
national rank #6,177 of 15,516 and #5,295 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$25,383Fayette, MS median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Fayette, 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 Fayette, MS.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)46.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)38.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,602
Median Income
$25,383
Median Home Value
$73,800
Median Age
35.2
Poverty Rate
46.5%
Labor force participation
38.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.5%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Fayette's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,443 residents
2021
1,412 residents
2022
1,389 residents
2023
1,362 residents
2024
1,336 residents
2025
1,315 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
80.0%
Carpool
2.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
17.2%
Based on 441 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 Fayette. 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 Fayette 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 Fayette sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Fayette 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, NCES CCD, 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.