Best PlacesSunflower County, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Sunflower County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Sunflower County ranks 3,055th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Sunflower County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Sunflower County
The parts of Sunflower County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Parchman & Drew
It is quieter and crime runs lower.
Indianola
More residents vote, though fewer households have young kids.
Ruleville
Scores close to Indianola, except that heat risk is lower here.
Scores across Sunflower County run from about the 2nd to the 48th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Sunflower County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sunflower County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 91% of counties
- Cheap childcare$532 a month, better than 85% of counties
- Short commute20.2 minutes each way, better than 77% of counties
- QuietBetter than 73% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 70% of counties
Where Sunflower County ranks low
- Household income$43,183 median, better than only 1% of counties
- School gradeD−, better than only 2% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Sunflower County
A household needs to earn about $28,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sunflower County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $43,183, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Sunflower County's effective rate of 0.61%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Sunflower County
Sunflower County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Sunflower County.
Who works in Sunflower County, and how
Work in Sunflower County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Sunflower County
Sunflower County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Sunflower County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Sunflower County growing, and who is moving in?
Sunflower County has lost about 16% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Bolivar County, MS.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Sunflower County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Sunflower County, month by month
Sunflower County sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 45° | 37° |
| April | 76° | 65° | 55° |
| July | 92° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 80° | 67° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Sunflower County
The nearest airport, Greenville Mid-Delta, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 106 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sunflower County
Schools across Sunflower County average a D−, better than 2% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hayes Cooper Center For Math Sc TecB+ · 55% proficient
- Bell Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Lockard Elementary SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cleveland Central Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Leland School ParkD− · 19% proficient
- Robert L Merritt Junior High SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Leland High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Cleveland Central High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Leflore County High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sunflower County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sunflower County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Sunflower County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Sunflower County suits
Common questions about living in Sunflower County
Is Sunflower County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sunflower County ranks 3,055th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, affordable childcare, and short commutes, and lowest on low incomes and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sunflower County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $111,799. The overall cost of living runs about 27% below the national average. Set against a $43,183 median income, cost of living beats 5% of counties.
Is Sunflower County safe?
Sunflower County is safer than 6% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $359 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Sunflower County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 55 with lows near 37. That works out to about 85 pleasant days a year, more than 45% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Sunflower County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Parchman & Drew, Indianola, and Ruleville. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Sunflower County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sunflower County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sunflower County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Sunflower County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sunflower County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sunflower County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sunflower County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sunflower County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sunflower County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.