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 2.3 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 Rolling Fork 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 town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
- A hospital close bySharkey Issaquena Community Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityMemphis is about 161 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 Rolling Fork 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.
What kind of town
Rolling Fork has lost about 25% of its people since 2020, and about 1 in 8 homes stands empty (not counting vacation homes or homes for sale or rent). A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.
The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.
For a lifetime
Homes and money
- Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
- $105,100U.S.: $332,700
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $548 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $45,587U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 62%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $1,089 a yearMississippi: $1,215
- Homes built before 1940
- 1%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 16%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. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Mississippi outside metro areas, not Rolling Fork 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
- 1,3872020: 1,851
- Median age
- 35.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 18%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 25%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 10%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 2%U.S.: 6%
- College students
- 5%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 (26%); retail (18%); farming, forestry and mining (13%)
- Unemployment rate
- 7%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 0%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 25%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Sharkey Issaquena Community Hospital, Rolling Fork, MS, in town. It's a rural emergency hospital (24-hour emergency care and outpatient services, no overnight stays). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.
Nearest general hospital: East Carroll Parish Hospital, Lake Providence, LA, about 18 miles away. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.
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
2 public schools in Rolling Fork, run by South Delta School District.
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
- 38%U.S.: 76%
- Homes with any internet subscription
- 56%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
- 97 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 42 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 55.3 inches a year
- Snow
- 0 inches a year
- Elevation
- 107 feet
Weather station: Rolling Fork (1 mile away). 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, Memphis.
Sharkey County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, 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:
- Poverty Point National Monument35 miles
- Vicksburg National Military Park36 miles
- Natchez Trace Parkway49 miles
- Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument55 miles
Read about Rolling Fork's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Hollandale, MS2,100 people, 19 miles
- Lake Providence, LA3,100 people, 19 miles
- Eudora, AR1,500 people, 27 miles
- Yazoo City, MS9,900 people, 27 miles
- Belzoni, MS1,700 people, 29 miles
- Oak Grove, LA1,400 people, 30 miles
Smaller places
- Anguilla, MS451 people, 5 miles
- Cary, MS220 people, 8 miles
- Mayersville, MS453 people, 10 miles
- Panther Burn, MS (unincorporated)128 people, 11 miles
- Glen Allan, MS (unincorporated)350 people, 11 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- 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.