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Meridian, Mississippi

Meridian is a small city of about 33,000 people in Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It's the county seat. It has lost about 4% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Birmingham, is about 135 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
33,370
down 4.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$107,900
Lauderdale County prices up 19% since 2022
Household income
$36,562
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Mississippi
83.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Anderson Regional Medical Center
To Birmingham
135 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 moneyA typical home costs 3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood179 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 5.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 16.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town14 public schools: 7 elementary, 3 middle, 3 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byAnderson Regional Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBirmingham is about 135 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 Meridian 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
$107,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%Lauderdale County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$910 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$36,562U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
49%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,332 a yearMississippi: $1,215
Homes built before 1940
9%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Mississippi outside metro areas, not Meridian 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
33,3702020: 34,873
Median age
39.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%share of all residents

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 (28%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (13%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
34%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Anderson Regional Medical Center, Meridian, MS, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

14 public schools in Meridian, run by Meridian Public Schools and Lauderdale Co School Dist.

Colleges in or next to town: Meridian Community College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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 cable, fiber or DSL internet
62%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
82%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
36°F
July average high
93°F
Days 90°F or hotter
86 a year
Nights at or below freezing
48 a year
Rain and melted snow
60.6 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
391 feet

Weather stations: Meridian Key Fld (5 miles away) and Collinsville 7 SE (5 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: Jackson, Birmingham.

Lauderdale County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 5, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

40 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Highland Park Dentzel Carousel and Shelter Building, the East End Historic District, Highland Park and the Highlands Historic District. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

Read about Meridian's history on Wikipedia.

Know Meridian?

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

  • Nellieburg, MS (unincorporated)1,197 people, 5 miles
  • Toomsuba, MS (unincorporated)512 people, 11 miles
  • Collinsville, MS (unincorporated)1,725 people, 12 miles
  • Meridian Station, MS (unincorporated)661 people, 12 miles
  • Lauderdale, MS (unincorporated)317 people, 13 miles
  • Chunky, MS268 people, 15 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.