Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Mississippi

Ecru, Mississippi

Ecru is a small town of about 1,100 people in Pontotoc County, Mississippi. It has grown about 4% since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Memphis, is about 75 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,113
up 3.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$196,700
Pontotoc County prices up 10% since 2022
Prices, rural Mississippi
83.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Pontotoc, MS
To Memphis
75 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 16.4% below the U.S. average in the parts of Mississippi outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Ecru to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Ecru itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 1 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byPontotoc Health Service INC Cah in Pontotoc, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMemphis is about 75 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Ecru meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$196,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 10%Pontotoc County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$797 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical property tax bill
$993 a yearMississippi: $1,215
Homes built before 1940
4%U.S.: 12%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
83.6U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Mississippi outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 10% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Mississippi outside metro areas, not Ecru alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,1132020: 1,071
Median age
33.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
32%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (15%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (7%)
Average commute
27 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
16%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Pontotoc Health Service INC Cah, Pontotoc, MS, about 8 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Baptist Memorial Hospital Union County, New Albany, MS, about 10 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Ecru, run by Pontotoc Co School Dist.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Mississippi's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with any internet subscription
84%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
31°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
52 a year
Nights at or below freezing
63 a year
Rain and melted snow
59.1 inches a year
Snow
1 inches a year
Elevation
353 feet

Weather stations: Pontotoc Exp Stn (15 miles away) and Pontotoc (7 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Pontotoc Health Service INC Cah, Collierville, Memphis.

Pontotoc County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Natchez Trace Parkway16 miles
  • Tupelo National Battlefield18 miles
  • Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site20 miles
  • Shiloh National Military Park48 miles

Read about Ecru's history on Wikipedia.

Know Ecru?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Blue Springs, MS446 people, 9 miles
  • Thaxton, MS692 people, 9 miles
  • Sherman, MS680 people, 11 miles
  • Algoma, MS723 people, 12 miles
  • Toccopola, MS289 people, 13 miles
  • Randolph, MS (unincorporated)613 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.