Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,694, settled in 1858.
Morton gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $83K for a typical one, or 1.3 years of the Jackson metro’s $62K median household income. It grades C− overall, 58th of 99 graded towns in Mississippi. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 96% of the country. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. Morton's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 98% of U.S. towns. Among 87 Mississippi towns, just 4 have a lower typical home value than Morton.
Where Morton beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Morton’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 Morton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 200 in 1900, 3,711 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 3 maps from 1924 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Morton, 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 Morton.
Morton draws workers from Forest and beyond, has homes that are cheap against local pay and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Mississippi.
23% of Morton adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance, against 12% in Mississippi’s towns and 8.1% across U.S. towns. 79% of Morton adults had a checkup this year. Morton beats the Mississippi average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 14.
| Morton | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 36% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 24% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 12% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 27% | 19% |
| What stands out | Morton | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.6% | 7.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 38.7% | 18.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Scott County School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Morton High School, with 476 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 686 | C− |
| Morton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 476 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
2,811 jobs are based in Morton, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 1,041 in 2013 to 2,811.
About one in 4 of Morton’s working residents works in town. At 30 minutes, Morton’s average trip to work is where Mississippi’s towns sit at 22 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Jobs based in Morton grew to 2,811 in 2023, 1,770 more than in 2013.
| Morton | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 19% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $42,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 21% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 1.3 years of the Jackson metro’s $62K median household income, the typical home (about $83K) costs less against local pay than in 97% of Mississippi towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. The typical value, about $83K, is 13% below its August 2022 peak.
51% of households own their home in Morton. The typical Morton home is worth about $83,000, about the same as a year ago, 58% below the Mississippi typical home.
| Morton | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $913 a month | $900 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Morton | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.5% | 2.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Raleigh 6n weather station, 15 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 221 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 82% of Mississippi places with climate records.
Morton has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Morton is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Morton's reported crime rate is below Mississippi's. Morton’s violent crime rate is 6.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Morton | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 6.2 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.9 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 10.4 per 1,000 residents | 22.7 | 14.1 |
FBI crime data, 2022 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1993, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Morton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Morton; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Morton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Mississippi.
8 notable people were born in Morton.
City in Mississippi, United States
Morton is a city in Scott County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, Morton had a population of 3,711.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Morton.
| Town | MS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morton | #58 | C− | B+ | — | C+ | D− |
| Pelahatchie | — | — | A | — | A | C− |
Pelahatchie has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Morton and Pelahatchie report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Morton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Morton grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #58 of 99 in Mississippi. It grades D− for health and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
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+.
8 notable people were born here, including B Angie B and Atley Donald.
