Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,878, settled in 1837. Public schools that outperform most of Mississippi.
Decatur’s best subject grade is an A− for schools; its weakest is a D for incomes. Decatur’s median age is 21.7 years, where Mississippi’s towns sit at 37 years and U.S. towns at 40.5 years. Among 102 Mississippi towns, just 5 have a lower share of residents 65 or older than Decatur. Decatur is home to East Central Community College. Only 10 of Mississippi’s 187 towns score lower on the outdoors. Decatur's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 93% of U.S. towns. Decatur has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Decatur beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Newton County Elementary School | PK–6 | 882 |
| Newton County High School | 7–12 | 768 |
| East Central Alternative School | 3–12 | — |
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| East Central Community College | 1,675 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Mississippi), ordered by how far Decatur is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 47 in 1880, 1,945 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 2 maps from 1966 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Decatur, 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 Decatur.
Adults 18 to 34 are 52% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 21% of residents (37% statewide). Among 102 Mississippi towns, just 8 have a lower share of children under 18 than Decatur. Decatur has lost 3.4% of its people since 2020, down to 1,878 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Decatur | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 21% | 25% | 29% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.4 points. Across Mississippi, 51.5% of residents are women.
| Decatur | MS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.5% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.2% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 38.4% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 6.6% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 4.7% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 5.1% | 10.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.3% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 19% | 12.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.8% | 29.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.6% | 21.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 20.3% | 10.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 8% | 15.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.2% | 9.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,900, single groups can be off by several points
Its public schools are run by the Newton County School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Newton County High School, with 768 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton County Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 882 | A+ |
| Newton County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 768 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
Decatur has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. At 91°F, Decatur’s July high is near the Mississippi town median (91°F) and above the median of U.S. towns (85°F).
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Decatur home is worth about $160,000, down 0.9% in a year, 18% below the Mississippi typical home. 58% of households own their home in Decatur.
| Decatur | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $835 a month | $905 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Decatur for work: only 9% work in town. Since 2013, Decatur has lost 82 jobs, to 700 in 2023. Decatur’s average trip to work is 22 minutes.
| Decatur | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.3% | 19% | 8% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
32% of Decatur adults have high blood pressure. Among 102 Mississippi towns, just 4 have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Decatur. 35% of Decatur adults have obesity.
| Decatur | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 33% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 16% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 45% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Decatur | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 9.3% | 15.5% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.7% | 7.5% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 20.4% | 17.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 53% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Decatur
College town 35 of every 100 Decatur residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Mississippi.
Town in Mississippi, United States
Decatur is a town in and the county seat of Newton County, Mississippi. The population was 1,945 in the 2020 census. This town is named after war hero Stephen Decatur Jr.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Public schools that outperform most of Mississippi.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
2 notable people were born here, including Medgar Evers and Charles Evers.