Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,958, settled in 1858.
The best of Durant’s subject grades is an A for cost of living; the weakest is a D− for incomes. 32% of residents live below the poverty line in Durant, above both the Mississippi town median (21%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 4 of Mississippi’s 182 towns score lower on incomes. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 98% of the country. Durant's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 97% of U.S. towns. Durant Illinois Central Railroad Depot is on the National Register of Historic Places. Durant has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Durant beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
2,673 counted in 2010 and 2,231 in 2020; an estimated 1,958 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Mississippi), ordered by how far Durant is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 375 in 1870, 2,231 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2014 and 2 maps from 1964 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Durant, 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 Durant.
36% of Durant adults say their health is fair or poor, against 27% in Mississippi’s towns and 19% across U.S. towns. 43% of adults feel lonely in Durant. Durant beats the Mississippi average on 3 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 19.
| Durant | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 27% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 52% | 42% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 36% | 25% |
| What stands out | Durant | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 9.4% | 13.6% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.8% | 7.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 23.5% | 11.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Holmes County Consolidated school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durant Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 242 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
Durant’s median rent is $482 a month. Typical home values fell 9.7% in the year to September 2026. 55% of Durant households own their home.
| Durant | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $482 a month | $905 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 55% | 62% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Durant for work: only 6% work in town. The average trip to work in Durant is 31 minutes. Jobs based in Durant fell to 358 in 2023, 493 fewer than in 2013.
| Durant | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $30,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.5% | 19% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Durant has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 91°, January nights drop to 35° and about 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Durant.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Durant
About 4 of every 100 Durant residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Mississippi.
Where Durant’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Mississippi, United States
Durant is a city near the central eastern border of Holmes County, Mississippi, United States, and Big Black River. The town was founded in 1858 as a station on the Mississippi Central Railroad, later part of the Illinois Central. Durant was named for Louis Durant, a Choctaw chief who had lived on this site before the United States undertook Indian Removal in the 1830s, forcing him and most of the Choctaw to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census, Durant had a population of 2,231. About 3 miles away is the Castalian Springs Hotel, believed in 2020 to be the only surviving such spa structure in the state. A dozen mineral springs resorts were identified in the W…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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 A.
2 notable people were born here, including Buford McGee and Minerva Hamilton Hoyt.