Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Starkville grades D overall, ranked 69th of 99 in Mississippi, mostly because of incomes. The median household income is $42K, and 31% of residents live below the poverty line. It also has a long history, with 20 places on the National Register. 31% of residents live below the poverty line in Starkville, where Mississippi’s towns sit at 21% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. No town in Mississippi scores lower than Starkville on cost of living. Its National Register listings include Greensboro Street Historic District and Odd Fellows Cemetery.
Where Starkville beats most towns.
Census counts: 475 in 1870, 24,360 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 2 maps from 1965 on.
20 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Mississippi), ordered by how far Starkville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Starkville, 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 Starkville.
Starkville is shaped by its college students, fares better on crime within Mississippi than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Its public schools are run by the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Starkville High School, with 1,376 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–4 | Grades 2–4 | 1,066 | B |
| Starkville High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,376 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $2,621, against $1,215 across Mississippi, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
34% of households own their home in Starkville. Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Starkville | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 34% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $916 a month | $900 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Starkville has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Starkville’s July high is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
3.5 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Starkville Parks and Rec Sports Plex, at 63 acres.
| Starkville | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.6% | 2.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Westside Park | 0.6 mi | 25 |
| 2. Starkville Parks and Rec Sports Plex | — | 63 |
| 3. McKee Park | 0.2 mi | 36 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
About one in 3 of Starkville’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Starkville is 20 minutes. Jobs based in Starkville grew to 12,701 in 2023, 898 more than in 2013.
| Starkville | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $42,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 7.1% | 5.3% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 23.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 55% of Mississippi’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 600 to 489 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 20 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Starkville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 3,083 U.S. towns with household incomes like Starkville’s, it is healthier than 93%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Mississippi it is healthier than 75% of the 101 graded towns: much of Mississippi scores lower on these measures.
Starkville beats the Mississippi average on 12 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 13% of Starkville adults report frequent physical distress. Among 101 Mississippi towns, just 6 have a lower share of adults who have high blood pressure than Starkville.
| Starkville | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 36% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 45% | 35% |
| What stands out | Starkville | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.6% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 11.5% | 15.5% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 73.8% | 79.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Starkville
College town 25 of every 100 Starkville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Mississippi.
20 places in Starkville on the National Register of Historic Places.
43 notable people were born in Starkville.
One town shares a border with Starkville.
| Town | MS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starkville | #69 | D | D | C+ | B− | B− |
| Mississippi State | — | — | — | — | B− | A− |
Mississippi State reports no FBI crime data of its own. Mississippi State isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Starkville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Starkville grades D overall, better than 11% of U.S. towns and #69 of 99 in Mississippi. It grades B− for health, C+ for safety and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
43 notable people were born here, including Jerry Rice and Hayes Jones.
