Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,658, settled in 1896.
Drew’s weakest subject grade is a D− for health. 35% of residents live below the poverty line in Drew, above both the Mississippi town median (21%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On health, just 2 of Mississippi’s 187 towns do worse. The median household income is $24K, and 35% of residents live below the poverty line. Drew’s density of trails is 1.4 miles per square mile, where Mississippi’s towns sit at 0.2 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Drew's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 96% of U.S. towns. Drew has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Drew’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Mississippi), ordered by how far Drew is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 195 in 1900, a peak of 2,574 in 1970, 1,852 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1937 and 2 maps from 1935 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Drew, 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 Drew.
In Drew, 19% of adults have been diagnosed with depression. Only 6 of the 102 Mississippi towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Drew. Also worth knowing: this Mississippi town does better than the Mississippi average on 2 of 31 CDC measures and worse on 21.
| Drew | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 27% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 18% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 53% | 42% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 12% |
| What stands out | Drew | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 9.8% | 13.6% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.5% | 7.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 25.8% | 11.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. The public schools here belong to the Sunflower County Consolidated School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.W. James ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 219 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
Among 100 Mississippi towns, just 7 have a lower owner-occupancy rate than Drew. Values fell 9.2% in the year to September 2026. In Drew, the median rent is $704 a month.
| Drew | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 44% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $704 a month | $905 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most people who work leave Drew to do it: just 3% work in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Drew dropped by 1,057, to 161. The top destinations are Cleveland (14%), Ruleville (11%) and Jackson (7%). The median commute is under 27 miles.
| Drew | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $24,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.4% | 19% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons reach 91°, January nights drop to 35° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Since 1978, Drew has seen 46 flood insurance claims paid out. Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 67% of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Drew break down as 36% from cold waves and 19% from inland flooding. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2026.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Drew
About 8 of every 100 Drew residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Mississippi.
6 notable people were born in Drew.
City in Mississippi, United States
Drew is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, Drew had a population of 1,852. Drew is in the vicinity of several plantations and the Mississippi State Penitentiary, a Mississippi Department of Corrections prison for men. It is noted for being the site of several racist murders, including the lynching of Joe Pullen in 1923 and of Emmett Till in 1955.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 1.8 years of the area's median household income ($39,956 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
6 notable people were born here, including Archie Manning and Boo Boo Davis.