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Place dossier plate
SheetMS-OXFORD-MS · Oxford, MS 26,086 pop · income 35th pct · 15 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 Oxford
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Oxford on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Starkville · lowest
39,751
Starkville · lowest
39,751 median HH income
18.3% of the leader · rank #1
Oxford · this city
59,901
Oxford · this city
59,901 median HH income
27.6% of the leader · rank #2
Tilton Northf… · near
59,902
Tilton Northf… · near
59,902 median HH income
27.6% of the leader · rank #3
Oakland · near
59,904
Oakland · near
59,904 median HH income
27.6% of the leader · rank #4
Emlyn · near
59,911
Emlyn · near
59,911 median HH income
27.6% of the leader · rank #5
Newton · near
59,915
Newton · near
59,915 median HH income
27.6% of the leader · rank #6
Ridgewood · highest
217,250
Ridgewood · highest
217,250 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Oxford on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 26,086.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Oxford - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Oxford lands in the 35th percentile for household income and the 33rd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
35th
percentile, household income
70th
percentile, home value
0th
percentile, median rent
33rd
percentile, safety
📝 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: Oxford, MS
Oxford is a small city in Mississippi, home to 26,086 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $59,901 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 8.9%. Oxford's housing stock carries a median value of $333,400, and the median resident age is 30.6 years. 56.9% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 57.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 307 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 51% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 1979.7 crimes per 100,000 residents, near the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
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. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Mississippi's average monthly utility costs around $223 (state average). 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 Oxford'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 schools and households to reported crime to population change to housing and income to within-city variation to comparison shortlist to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Oxford, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, local building permits.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Oxford?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 7 public schools within the city match. 56.9% 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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Oxford?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1979.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 13% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
PlainCities matches 15 Census tracts to this city.
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 Oxford?
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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Mississippi, the closest population matches are Starkville (25,611 residents, $39,751 income); Horn Lake (26,622 residents, $56,847 income); Brandon (25,352 residents, $93,073 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Conway, SC (26,082 residents); Ridgewood, NJ (26,076 residents); Medina, OH (26,040 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.
Population change
Is Oxford growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,186 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +4.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 307 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 upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
2020 estimate
25,587
2025 estimate
26,773
Period change
+4.6%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
How far does income reach against housing in Oxford?
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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
5.6×
Home value
$333,400
Household income
$59,901
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 Oxford?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 82.4%. 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. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
82.4%
Work from home
5.8%
Public transit
2.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 12,479 workers age 16+.
Below median income · poverty 8.9% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.0 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Mississippi average
C+
City profile score · Oxford, MS
63/100
5 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 A+
56.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime C+
127 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate D
8.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$59,901
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Oxford profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 97/100 (A+) · 87.0 index
Bachelor's+ share: 90/100 (A+) · 56.9%
Violent crime: 64/100 (C+) · 127 /100k
Poverty rate: 44/100 (D) · 8.9%
Household income: 34/100 (F) · $59,901
Where Oxford sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Oxford's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Oxford highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Oxford, MS (this city): home $333,400, crime 1,980/100k
Conway, SC : home $236,300, crime 2,419/100k
Ridgewood, NJ : home $882,700, crime 629/100k
Medina, OH : home $231,700, crime 871/100k
East Chicago, IN : home $92,400, crime 2,416/100k
Starkville, MS : home $265,900, crime 2,119/100k
Horn Lake, MS : home $158,900, crime 1,509/100k
Brandon, MS : home $255,900, crime 463/100k
Clinton, MS : home $220,400, crime 1,275/100k
Ridgeland, MS : home $259,600, crime 1,700/100k
How does Oxford compare to other US cities?
Oxford measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income35% higher than other cities
Home value70% pricier than other cities
Median rent0% pricier than other cities
Safety33% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Mississippi alone, Oxford ranks #32 of 56 Mississippi cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Oxford 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 Oxford near the bottom of Mississippi's cities
Among the 395 Mississippi cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Oxford ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Oxford only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#88 of 345
74th percentile in Mississippi
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 395
0th percentile in Mississippi
Median Home Value
#3 of 348
99th percentile in Mississippi
Poverty Rate
#276 of 393
30th percentile in Mississippi
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#11 of 394
97th 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
35th percentile nationally for median household income · 33rd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Oxford's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Oxford's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Oxford's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$333,40030th percentilemore affordable than 30% 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
Oxford's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,663 of 15,516
More affordable than 12% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,837 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 5.6×, Oxford sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,663 of 15,516 and #2,837 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
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
$59,901Oxford, MS median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Oxford, 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 Oxford, MS.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)56.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)57.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
26,086
Median Income
$59,901
Median Home Value
$333,400
Median Age
30.6
Poverty Rate
8.9%
Labor force participation
57.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
56.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1979.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
127.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1852.6
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
7
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Oxford's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
25,587 residents
2021
26,128 residents
2022
26,686 residents
2023
27,180 residents
2024
27,037 residents
2025
26,773 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
307
housing units authorized
Single-Family
235
detached homes
Multifamily
72
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
11.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
203
171
32
$37.2M
2020
132
114
18
$34.9M
2021
170
134
36
$41.3M
2022
248
217
31
$68.1M
2023
269
235
34
$86.0M
2024
307
235
72
$100.9M
Permit volume increased 51% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
82.4%
Carpool
5.4%
Public Transit
2.0%
Walk
3.4%
Work from Home
5.8%
Other
1.0%
Based on 12,479 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 Oxford. 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 Oxford 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 Oxford sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Oxford 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, FBI UCR, 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.