Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,278, laid out in 1898.
Ruleville’s weakest subject grade is a D− for incomes. 34% of residents live below the poverty line in Ruleville, above both the Mississippi town median (21%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On incomes, just 12 of Mississippi’s 182 towns do worse. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 98% of the country. Ruleville's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 92% of U.S. towns. Dockery Farms Historic District and Ruleville Depot is on the National Register of Historic Places. Ruleville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Ruleville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Ruleville Depot| Widest gap | Ruleville | MS |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 20.8% | 11.2% |
3,007 counted in 2010 and 2,642 in 2020; an estimated 2,278 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 Ruleville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 226 in 1900, 2,642 in 2020. The archive holds 15 old photos and papers going back to 1930 and 3 maps from 1934 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ruleville, 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 Ruleville.
36% of Ruleville adults say their health is fair or poor, above both Mississippi’s towns (27%) and U.S. towns (19%). 40% of Ruleville adults feel lonely. Among 102 Mississippi towns, just 5 have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Ruleville.
| Ruleville | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 27% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 51% | 42% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 36% | 25% |
| What stands out | Ruleville | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 9.4% | 13.6% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.4% | 7.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 20.8% | 11.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Sunflower County Consolidated School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Thomas E. Edwards Sr. High School, with 331 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruleville Central ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 271 | C− |
| Thomas E. Edwards Sr. High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 331 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
The typical Ruleville home is worth about $90,000, about the same as a year ago, 54% below the Mississippi typical home. 43% of households own their home in Ruleville.
| Ruleville | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 43% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $694 a month | $905 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Ruleville has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Ruleville is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 27 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ruleville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Ruleville for work: only 17% work in town. Ruleville’s median household income is $33,000. Jobs based in Ruleville fell to 960 in 2023, 84 fewer than in 2013.
| Ruleville | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $33,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 19% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Among 88 Mississippi towns, just 1 have a higher trail density than Ruleville. 2.1 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves.
| Ruleville | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 2.8% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ruleville. Close and well known come first.
18 mi National MonumentEmmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument4K visitors a year
20 mi MuseumB.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center
33 mi MuseumDelta Blues Museum
11 mi MuseumGrammy Museum MississippiEmmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument: Calvin Beale, Public domain · B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center: Swampyank, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Delta Blues Museum: VitaleBaby at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Grammy Museum Mississippi: BobCummings, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ruleville
About 3 of every 100 Ruleville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Mississippi.
City in Mississippi, United States
Ruleville is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta region. As of the 2020 census, Ruleville had a population of 2,642. It is the second-largest community in the rural county.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 2.3 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−.
Ruleville was laid out in 1898 and has 1 place on the National Register of Historic Places. 2 notable people were born here, including Jimmy Rogers and Lester Brinkley.
