Mississippi · county 28011

Bolivar County, Mississippi: public records at a glance

What national public records say about Bolivar County — people, schools, health, drinking water, bridges, disaster risk, the jail, federal grants and how to vote — each with its source. A full County Commons site (the budget line by line, your tax bill, audits, local offices) isn't built for Bolivar County yet — not gathered, never hidden.

28,395 people (2024 Census estimate, −7.9% since 2020)
877 square miles of land · 32 people per square mile

How Bolivar County compares — against the other counties in Mississippi

28,395 — people: 29th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$13,768 — spending per student in its school districts: 20th highest of 81 Mississippi counties.
67.0 years — life expectancy: 72nd highest of 81 Mississippi counties.
14.2% — share of adults under 65 without health insurance: 29th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
45.4% — child poverty: 7th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
76.1% — households with broadband internet: 45th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$39,920 — median household income: 68th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
10.3% — share of bridges rated poor: 9th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$636 — federal grant dollars per resident: 31st highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$22.2 million — expected yearly losses from natural hazards: 17th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.

“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.

Drinking water — public water systems serving Bolivar County

26 active community water systems list Bolivar County in the area they serve, reporting 36,305 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).

CITY OF CLEVELAND groundwater · local government · MS0060006	16,392 served
CITY OF SHELBY groundwater · local government · MS0060019	1,998 served
CITY OF MOUND BAYOU groundwater · local government · MS0060013	1,711 served
CITY OF ROSEDALE groundwater · local government · MS0060016	1,708 served
TOWN OF SHAW groundwater · local government · MS0060018	1,639 served
DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY groundwater · state · MS0060007	1,500 served
BOYLE-SKENE W/A#3 groundwater · public/private · MS0060051	1,486 served
TOWN OF BOYLE groundwater · local government · MS0060004	1,400 served

Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.

The jail — people held in the county jail

About 350 people were held in Bolivar County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 1,772 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 488.

Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.

Public schools — district budgets, fiscal 2023

3 school districts have their office in Bolivar County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.

CLEVELAND CONS SCH DIST 42,818 students

Spent $47.6 million — $36 million to run schools, about $12,775 per student, plus $11.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $12.5 million local (mostly property tax), $17.9 million state, $13.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $6.7 million.

WEST BOLIVAR CONS SCH938 students

Spent $19.7 million — $14.5 million to run schools, about $15,499 per student, plus $5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.6 million local (mostly property tax), $7.8 million state, $8.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $1.2 million.

NORTH BOLIVAR CONS SCH780 students

Spent $18.3 million — $11.9 million to run schools, about $15,277 per student, plus $6.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.5 million local (mostly property tax), $6.6 million state, $9.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $1.2 million.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.

Health, money and internet at home — Bolivar County beside Mississippi

Life expectancy67.0 years · Mississippi 71.9 years

Adults under 65 without health insurance14.2% · Mississippi 13.1%

Children in poverty45.4% · Mississippi 24.3%

Households without enough food (food insecurity)21.2% · Mississippi 18.8%

Households with broadband internet76.1% · Mississippi 81.9%

Households with severe housing problems17.4% · Mississippi 14.3%

Drug overdose deaths per 100,00015.6 · Mississippi 24.1

Residents per primary care doctor2,021 · Mississippi 1,875

Residents per mental health provider1,073 · Mississippi 436

Unemployment3.6% · Mississippi 3.2%

Median household income$39,920 · Mississippi $54,386

Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.

Disaster risk — FEMA's National Risk Index

Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Bolivar County about $22.2 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Very High.

The costliest hazards here

River and inland flooding$10.5 million a year · Relatively Moderate

Earthquake$4.6 million a year · Relatively Moderate

Tornado$2.8 million a year · Relatively Moderate

Heat wave$1.2 million a year · Relatively Moderate

Drought$941,829 a year · Relatively Moderate

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.

Bridges — condition of every public bridge, 2025

271 bridges in Bolivar County: 68 in good condition, 175 fair, and 28 poor (10.3%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.

Busiest bridges rated poor

NORTH BAYOU ROAD over JONES BAYOU · built 1975	1,600 vehicles a day
SR 446 over BOUGE PHALIA RIVER · built 1966	480 vehicles a day
COLLEGE ST over BEAR PEN CANAL · built 2000	350 vehicles a day
RAILROAD AVENUE over BRANCH OF PORTER BAYOU · built 1974	320 vehicles a day
LITTON ROAD over BCH OF PECAN BAYOU · built 1968	300 vehicles a day
LITTON ROAD over PHALIA BAYOU · built 1978	250 vehicles a day

Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.

Federal grants — the money that came in, and what's open now

Federal grants paid for $19.7 million of work in Bolivar County in fiscal 2025, about $636 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.

Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.

Open now: federal grants county governments can apply for

F26AS00062: Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act FY 2026 Fish and Wildlife Service · F26AS00062	closes 2026-10-13
OVC FY 2026 Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking Office for Victims of Crime · O-OVC-2026-172699	closes 2026-10-14
BJA FY 2026 Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172661	closes 2026-10-15
FY26 Bureau of Land Management Youth Conservation Corps - Bureau wide Bureau of Land Management · L26AS00064	closes 2026-10-16
FY 2027 Notice of Funding Opportunity: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) FAA Contract Tower (FCT) Competitive Grant Program Airport Improvement Program Discretionary Grants · DOT-FAA-26-0117-002	closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Service Area Competition (SAC) Health Resources and Services Administration · HRSA-27-005	closes 2026-10-19
Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP Competition AmeriCorps · AC-08-20-2026	closes 2026-10-20
DOJ FY 2026 Assisting Neighborhoods and Governments with Enforcement of Laws (ANGEL) Grant Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172778	closes 2026-10-20
Long-term health outcomes of people living with spina bifida Centers for Disease Control - NCBDDD · CDC-RFA-DD-26-0222	closes 2026-10-26
OJJDP FY 2026 Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention · O-OJJDP-2026-172741	closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Veterans Treatment Court Program Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172714	closes 2026-10-29
BJA FY 2026 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Bureau of Justice Assistance · O-BJA-2026-172708	closes 2026-10-29

From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.

Voting

Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Mississippi are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.

Not here yet

The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Bolivar County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Bolivar County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.

More of Mississippi: the state government and every county in Mississippi.

Nearby counties: Desha County, AR (21 mi) · Sunflower County (21 mi) · Coahoma County (34 mi) · Washington County (36 mi) · Leflore County (38 mi) · Tallahatchie County (42 mi).