Mississippi · county 28087

Lowndes County, Mississippi: public records at a glance

What national public records say about Lowndes 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 Lowndes County yet — not gathered, never hidden.

57,210 people (2024 Census estimate, −2.7% since 2020)
505 square miles of land · 113 people per square mile

How Lowndes County compares — against the other counties in Mississippi

57,210 — people: 14th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$12,127 — spending per student in its school districts: 53rd highest of 81 Mississippi counties.
72.5 years — life expectancy: 17th highest of 81 Mississippi counties.
11.3% — share of adults under 65 without health insurance: 79th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
26.8% — child poverty: 47th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
85.1% — households with broadband internet: 11th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$53,883 — median household income: 20th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
4.4% — share of bridges rated poor: 46th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$467 — federal grant dollars per resident: 38th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$33.6 million — expected yearly losses from natural hazards: 12th 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 Lowndes County

12 active community water systems list Lowndes County in the area they serve, reporting 65,728 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).

COLUMBUS LIGHT & WATER groundwater · local government · MS0440003	23,616 served
EAST LOWNDES W/A B WEST-OLD YORKVILLE RD groundwater · public/private · MS0440103	7,355 served
EAST LOWNDES W/A #2-HUCKLEBERRY groundwater · public/private · MS0440080	7,035 served
TOWN OF CALEDONIA groundwater · local government · MS0440002	6,589 served
EAST LOWNDES #4-HERMAN-VAUGHN groundwater · public/private · MS0440100	5,678 served
EAST LOWNDES W/A A EAST-OLD YORKVILLE groundwater · public/private · MS0440081	4,778 served
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE buys groundwater · federal · MS0440018	3,300 served
PRAIRIE LAND WATER ASSOCIATION, INC groundwater · public/private · MS0440096	2,500 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 188 people were held in Lowndes County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 495 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 175.

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

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

LOWNDES CO SCH DIST5,261 students

Spent $67.4 million — $58.2 million to run schools, about $11,059 per student, plus $7.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $35.5 million local (mostly property tax), $32.5 million state, $13.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $60.8 million.

COLUMBUS MUN SEP SCH DIST3,090 students

Spent $51 million — $43.1 million to run schools, about $13,944 per student, plus $7.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $14.8 million local (mostly property tax), $19.5 million state, $18.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $6.2 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 — Lowndes County beside Mississippi

Life expectancy72.5 years · Mississippi 71.9 years

Adults under 65 without health insurance11.3% · Mississippi 13.1%

Children in poverty26.8% · Mississippi 24.3%

Households without enough food (food insecurity)16.9% · Mississippi 18.8%

Households with broadband internet85.1% · Mississippi 81.9%

Households with severe housing problems14.8% · Mississippi 14.3%

Drug overdose deaths per 100,00019.0 · Mississippi 24.1

Residents per primary care doctor2,077 · Mississippi 1,875

Residents per mental health provider339 · Mississippi 436

Unemployment3.3% · Mississippi 3.2%

Median household income$53,883 · 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 Lowndes County about $33.6 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively High.

The costliest hazards here

River and inland flooding$13.7 million a year · Relatively Moderate

Tornado$5.9 million a year · Relatively High

Cold wave$5.2 million a year · Relatively High

Earthquake$3.3 million a year · Relatively Low

Heat wave$1.9 million 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

248 bridges in Lowndes County: 149 in good condition, 88 fair, and 11 poor (4.4%). “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

SR 50 over TOMBIGBEE RELIEF · built 1959	4,900 vehicles a day
WATERWORKS ROAD over LUXAPALILA CREEK · built 1955	4,000 vehicles a day
GUN SHOOT ROAD over SLOUGH · built 1991	2,800 vehicles a day
GUN SHOOT ROAD over LUXAPALILA RIVER · built 1981	1,500 vehicles a day
BEATTY ROAD over VERNON BRANCH · built 1965	1,200 vehicles a day
CALEDONIA STEENS R over YELLOW CREEK · built 1984	1,100 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 $27.5 million of work in Lowndes County in fiscal 2025, about $467 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 Lowndes 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 Lowndes County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.

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

Nearby counties: Pickens County, AL (23 mi) · Clay County (24 mi) · Oktibbeha County (25 mi) · Noxubee County (26 mi) · Monroe County (29 mi) · Lamar County, AL (30 mi).