Living in Flora, Mississippi: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11% below the U.S. average in the Jackson metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Flora 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 town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Madison Central High School, about 10 miles away.
A hospital close byMerit Health Madison in Canton, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 173 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 Flora 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: $204,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 16%Madison County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $36,513U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $749 a yearMississippi: $1,215
Homes built before 1940: 3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 89U.S. average = 100 (the Jackson metro area)

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 16% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Jackson metro area, not Flora 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: 1,6772020: 1,653
Median age: 33.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 15%U.S.: 36%

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 (17%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate: 6%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 7%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Merit Health Madison, Canton, MS, about 14 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

1 public school in Flora, run by Madison Co School Dist. The nearest public high school is Madison Central High School, about 10 miles away.

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.

Weather

January average low: 38°F
July average high: 92°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 83 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 32 a year
Rain and melted snow: 57 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 244 feet

Weather stations: Jackson Hawkins Fld (15 miles away) and Canton 4N (18 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

Merit Health MadisonEmergency room14

Jackson, MSCity of 141,00017

New Orleans, LAMetro of 1 million173

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: Merit Health Madison, Jackson, New Orleans.

Madison County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Natchez Trace Parkway10 miles
Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument15 miles
Vicksburg National Military Park18 miles

Read about Flora's history on Wikipedia.

Know Flora?

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

Gluckstadt, MS3,500 people, 13 miles
Canton, MS10,900 people, 17 miles
Flowood, MS11,000 people, 20 miles
Raymond, MS1,400 people, 20 miles
Yazoo City, MS9,900 people, 23 miles
Richland, MS7,600 people, 23 miles

Smaller places

Kearney Park, MS (unincorporated)485 people, 3 miles
Bentonia, MS296 people, 8 miles

Sources

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.