Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Cleveland grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns, mostly because of incomes and safety. The median household income is $44K, and 29% of residents live below the poverty line. Its police reported 26 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 88% of U.S. towns. In its favor, 16% of its land is conserved. 44% of working residents work locally in Cleveland, above both Mississippi’s towns (19%) and U.S. towns (8%). Only 4 of Mississippi’s 184 towns score lower on cost of living. Cleveland is home to Delta State University.
Where Cleveland beats most towns.
15.7% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Mississippi), ordered by how far Cleveland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 479 in 1900, a peak of 15,384 in 1990, 11,199 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1926 and 3 maps from 1934 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cleveland, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Cleveland.
Cleveland draws workers from Greenville and beyond, fares better on crime within Mississippi than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Its A− for the outdoors ranks #2 of 101 in Mississippi.
2.5 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Bear Pen Park, at 73 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bear Pen Park | 0.7 mi | 73 |
| 2. Firemans Park | 0.7 mi | 10 |
| 3. Amzie Moore Park | 0.5 mi | 20 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Cleveland School District. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Central Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 423 | C |
| Cleveland Central High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 799 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
6,526 jobs are based in Cleveland, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 16.7 minutes, against 25.6 across Mississippi.
The average trip to work in Cleveland is 17 minutes. Since 2013, Cleveland has lost 1,332 jobs, to 6,526 in 2023. The top destinations are Greenville (3%), Ruleville (3%) and Jackson (3%).
| Cleveland | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $44,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 45.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 73% of Mississippi’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 422 to 216 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Cleveland’s property crime rate is 19.1 per 1,000 residents. Cleveland reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 88% report less. Cleveland’s violent crime rate is 2.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Cleveland | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19.1 per 1,000 residents | 16.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 3,694 U.S. towns with household incomes like Cleveland’s, it is less healthy than 53%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income. Within Mississippi it is healthier than 53% of the 101 graded towns: much of Mississippi scores lower on these measures.
Cleveland beats the Mississippi average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 18% of adults have diabetes in Cleveland.
| Cleveland | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 12% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 24% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 45% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 36% | 25% |
| What stands out | Cleveland | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.8% | 7.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 15.6% | 11.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 78% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 57 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cleveland.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Values fell 3.8% in the past year while the Mississippi typical home rose 2.2%. The typical value, about $139K, is 20% below its December 2021 peak.
The typical Cleveland home is worth about $139,000, 29% below the Mississippi typical home.
| Cleveland | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 67% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $943 a month | $900 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Cleveland has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 91°, January nights drop to 35° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Mississippi average. Cleveland has lost 9.6% of its people since 2020, down to 10,138 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 35% of Cleveland adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
| Cleveland | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 24% | 29% |
| Median age | 35.7 years | 37 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 23% | 24% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.6 points. Across Mississippi, 51.5% of residents are women.
| Cleveland | MS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.3% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.9% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 14.9% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.4% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.2% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.7% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.5% | 10.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.4% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 12.6% | 12.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21% | 29.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.9% | 21.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.7% | 10.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.7% | 15.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.1% | 9.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1 within 15 miles of the center of Cleveland
About 12 of every 100 Cleveland residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Mississippi.
18 notable people were born in Cleveland.
City in Mississippi, United States
Cleveland is a city and one of two county seats of Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States, the other seat being Rosedale. The Cleveland population was 11,199 as of the 2020 United States census. Cleveland has a large commercial economy, with numerous restaurants, stores, and services along U.S. 61. Delta State University and The Grammy Museum Mississippi, the first Grammy Museum outside of Los Angeles, are located here.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cleveland grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns. It grades D for health, D for safety and C− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 3.5 years of the area's median household income ($39,585 across the Cleveland, MS area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
18 notable people were born here, including Johnny O'Bryant III and Larry Speakes.
