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Place dossier plate
SheetMS-WATER-VALLEY-MS · Water Valley, MS 3,380 pop · income 15th 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 Water Valley
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Water Valley on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Macon · lowest
29,167
Macon · lowest
29,167 median HH income
11.7% of the leader · rank #1
Mountain City · near
47,159
Mountain City · near
47,159 median HH income
18.9% of the leader · rank #2
Water Valley · this city
47,167
Water Valley · this city
47,167 median HH income
18.9% of the leader · rank #3
North DeLand · near
47,167
North DeLand · near
47,167 median HH income
18.9% of the leader · rank #4
Glenwood · near
47,167
Glenwood · near
47,167 median HH income
18.9% of the leader · rank #5
Leitchfield · near
47,168
Leitchfield · near
47,168 median HH income
18.9% of the leader · rank #6
West Menlo Pa… · highest
250,001
West Menlo Pa… · highest
250,001 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 Water Valley 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: 3,380.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Water Valley - the verdict
Water Valley ranks in the 15th percentile for household income and the 11th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
15th
percentile, household income
14th
percentile, home value
0th
percentile, median rent
11th
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: Water Valley, MS
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 3,380 residents in Water Valley, a small town within Mississippi. Median household income here is $47,167 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 23.0%. Typical homes in Water Valley are valued around $111,000, and the median resident age is 32.9 years. About 14.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 53.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 22 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Rapid Growth), up 47% from five years earlier. Water Valley's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 3427.9 in FBI UCR data, above the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 61.5°F with 58.6 inches of precipitation per year and 1.2 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Mississippi run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Mississippi at 87.0 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $924 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Mississippi run around $223, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 50.9 out of 100 (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Water Valley'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 reported crime to schools and households to housing and income to climate and hazard context to population change to work and mobility to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Water Valley, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Water Valley?
Within Mississippi, the closest population matches are Macon (3,454 residents, $29,167 income); Magnolia (3,264 residents, $37,447 income); Hazlehurst (3,547 residents, $40,491 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Parker, AZ (3,379 residents); Frontenac, KS (3,381 residents); Ebensburg, PA (3,381 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.
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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Water Valley?
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.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3427.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 50% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
What does the education layer cover for Water Valley?
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 14.9% 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.
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.
What can 4 Census tracts reveal inside Water Valley?
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.
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 Water Valley?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 23.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Household income
$47,167
Home value
$111,000
Value / income
2.4×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What physical conditions frame life in Water Valley?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 61.5°F, with 58.6 inches of precipitation and 1.2 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Mississippi is 50.9 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
61.5°F
Annual precipitation
58.6 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
50.9
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Is Water Valley growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +43 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 22 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+1.3%
2025 estimate
3,414
2020 estimate
3,371
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the journey to work look like in Water Valley?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 90.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
1.9%
Drive alone
90.3%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 1,450 workers age 16+.
Low income · poverty 23.0% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.0 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Mississippi average
F
City profile score · Water Valley, MS
31/100
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 F
14.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$47,167
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
532 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate F
23.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Water Valley profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 97/100 (A+) · 87.0 index
Bachelor's+ share: 20/100 (F) · 14.9%
Household income: 16/100 (F) · $47,167
Violent crime: 14/100 (F) · 532 /100k
Poverty rate: 9/100 (F) · 23.0%
Where Water Valley sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Water Valley'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 - Water Valley highlighted among 24 peers.Read the chart values
Water Valley, MS (this city): home $111,000, crime 3,428/100k
Parker, AZ : home $253,300, crime 1,739/100k
Frontenac, KS : home $165,400, crime 1,010/100k
Ebensburg, PA : home $157,500, crime 875/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Water Valley compare to other US cities?
Here's how Water Valley stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income15% higher than other cities
Home value14% pricier than other cities
Median rent0% pricier than other cities
Safety11% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Mississippi, Water Valley ranks #46 of 56 Mississippi cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Water Valley 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 Water Valley near the bottom of Mississippi's cities
Among the 395 Mississippi cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Water Valley ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Water Valley only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#155 of 345
54th percentile in Mississippi
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 395
0th percentile in Mississippi
Median Home Value
#171 of 348
51st percentile in Mississippi
Poverty Rate
#137 of 393
64th percentile in Mississippi
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#228 of 394
42nd 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
15th percentile nationally for median household income · 11th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Water Valley's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Water Valley'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 Water Valley's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$111,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 86% 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
Water Valley's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,244 of 15,516
More affordable than 79% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,975 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.4×, Water Valley sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,244 of 15,516 and #2,975 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
$47,167Water Valley, MS median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Water Valley, 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 Water Valley, MS.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)23.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)53.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
3,380
Median Income
$47,167
Median Home Value
$111,000
Median Age
32.9
Poverty Rate
23.0%
Labor force participation
53.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3427.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
531.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2896.0
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.
Climate
Avg Temperature
61.5°F
Annual Precipitation
58.6"
Annual Snowfall
1.2"
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Water Valley's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
3,371 residents
2021
3,375 residents
2022
3,374 residents
2023
3,387 residents
2024
3,422 residents
2025
3,414 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Rapid Growth
Total Permits (2024)
22
housing units authorized
Single-Family
22
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
6.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
15
15
0
$0.5M
2020
16
16
0
$0.5M
2021
20
20
0
$0.6M
2022
22
22
0
$0.7M
2023
20
20
0
$0.6M
2024
22
22
0
$0.7M
Permit volume increased 47% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
90.3%
Carpool
3.9%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.4%
Work from Home
1.9%
Other
3.5%
Based on 1,450 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 Water Valley. 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 Water Valley 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 Water Valley sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Water Valley 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, NOAA Climate Normals, 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.