Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,640, settled in 1837.
Fulton gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $160K, 2.5 years of the Tupelo area’s $63K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 16th of 99 in Mississippi. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $53K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. Only 3 of Mississippi’s 187 towns score higher on hazard risk. Fulton is home to Itawamba Community College. Fulton's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 86% of U.S. towns.
Where Fulton beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Itawamba Community College | 3,544 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Mississippi), ordered by how far Fulton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 275 in 1850, a low of 132 in 1870, 4,542 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 3 maps from 1965 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fulton, 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 Fulton.
Fulton is shaped by its college students, draws workers from Tupelo and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
3,700 jobs are based in Fulton, 2.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 4 of Fulton’s working residents works in town. At 22 minutes, Fulton’s average trip to work is where Mississippi’s towns sit at 23 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Since 2013, Fulton has lost 238 jobs, to 3,700 in 2023.
| Fulton | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 28% | 19% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Itawamba Career & Technical CenterLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | – | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
21% of residents are enrolled in college, against 6.1% statewide, which pulls the median age down.
That puts Fulton below both Mississippi’s towns (24%) and U.S. towns (22%). Adults 18 to 34 are 36% of residents (22% statewide); children under 18 are 15% of residents (23% statewide). Fulton’s median age is 34.4 years.
| Fulton | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 15% | 24% | 22% |
| Median age | 34.4 years | 37 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 25% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.8 points. Across Mississippi, 51.5% of residents are women.
| Fulton | MS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.4% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.6% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 24.9% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.4% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.3% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.4% | 10.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.1% | 12.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 41.4% | 29.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.4% | 21.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.5% | 10.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 8.6% | 15.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.1% | 9.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,600, single groups can be off by several points
The FEMA risk score in Fulton is 30 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Fulton 3 W weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 212 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 93% of Mississippi places with climate records. The Fulton 3 W weather station records that about 56 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 88% of Mississippi places with climate records.
Fulton has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 91°, January nights drop to 32° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Typical home values rose 12% in the year to September 2026.
| Fulton | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $679 a month | $909 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 62% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 6,700 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fulton’s, it is healthier than 91%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Within Mississippi it is healthier than 84% of the 101 graded towns: much of Mississippi scores lower on these measures.
Fulton beats the Mississippi average on 15 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 39% of Fulton adults feel lonely. Among 101 Mississippi towns, just 4 have a lower share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Fulton.
| Fulton | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 33% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 16% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 39% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 18% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fulton | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.6% | 11.2% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 10.1% | 15.5% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 75.8% | 79.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Within Mississippi, it does better than 68% of towns.
| Fulton | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.3 per 1,000 residents | 17.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fulton. Close and well known come first.
14 mi ParkwayNatchez Trace Parkway8.0M visitors a year
16 mi MuseumElvis Presley Birthplace
25 mi National park siteBrices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site2K visitors a year
19 mi National BattlefieldTupelo National Battlefield686 visitors a year
17 mi MuseumTupelo Automobile Museum40 mi MuseumApron MuseumNatchez Trace Parkway: Carol M. Highsmith (1946–), Public domain · Elvis Presley Birthplace: Markuskun at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site: Wilson44691, Public domain · Tupelo National Battlefield: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tupelo Automobile Museum: James Case from Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S.A., CC BY 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Fulton
College town 21 of every 100 Fulton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Mississippi.
3,961 counted in 2010 and 4,542 in 2020; an estimated 4,640 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
5 notable people were born in Fulton.
City in Mississippi, United States
Fulton is a city in and the county seat of Itawamba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 4,542 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Tupelo Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Fulton grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #16 of 99 in Mississippi. It grades B for health, B− for safety and B for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Mississippi, it does better than 68% of towns.
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−.
5 notable people were born here, including Jimmie Lunceford and Peggy Welch.
