Mississippi · county 28121

Rankin County, Mississippi: public records at a glance

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

160,573 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.2% since 2020)
775 square miles of land · 207 people per square mile

How Rankin County compares — against the other counties in Mississippi

“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 Rankin County

35 active community water systems list Rankin County in the area they serve, reporting 190,156 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).

CITY OF BRANDON
groundwater · local government · MS0610003
31,852 served
CITY OF FLOWOOD
groundwater · local government · MS0610075
31,574 served
CITY OF PEARL
groundwater · local government · MS0610017
27,115 served
PRVWSD-PELAHATCHIE BAY
groundwater · state · MS0610036
11,790 served
FANNIN WATER ASSN-NORTH
groundwater · public/private · MS0610008
7,690 served
CITY OF RICHLAND
groundwater · local government · MS0610023
7,000 served
GREENFIELD WATER ASSOCIATION
groundwater · public/private · MS0610011
6,088 served
TOWN OF FLORENCE
groundwater · local government · MS0610009
5,824 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 471 people were held in Rankin County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 451 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 461.

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 Rankin County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.

RANKIN CO SCH DIST18,720 students

Spent $234.1 million — $212 million to run schools, about $11,323 per student, plus $12.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $103.8 million local (mostly property tax), $114.7 million state, $26.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $185 million.

PEARL MUN SEP SCHOOL DIST4,216 students

Spent $54.7 million — $45.7 million to run schools, about $10,831 per student, plus $8.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $18.4 million local (mostly property tax), $24.6 million state, $7.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $22 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 — Rankin County beside Mississippi

Life expectancy76.9 years · Mississippi 71.9 years
Adults under 65 without health insurance10.9% · Mississippi 13.1%
Children in poverty11.3% · Mississippi 24.3%
Households without enough food (food insecurity)14.3% · Mississippi 18.8%
Households with broadband internet91.5% · Mississippi 81.9%
Households with severe housing problems9.8% · Mississippi 14.3%
Drug overdose deaths per 100,00024.9 · Mississippi 24.1
Residents per primary care doctor1,776 · Mississippi 1,875
Residents per mental health provider397 · Mississippi 436
Unemployment2.3% · Mississippi 3.2%
Median household income$70,794 · 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 Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Rankin County about $60.2 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.

The costliest hazards here

River and inland flooding$20.8 million a year · Relatively Moderate
Tornado$12.4 million a year · Relatively High
Hail$7.7 million a year · Relatively High
Cold wave$5.2 million a year · Relatively Moderate
Heat wave$4.5 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

378 bridges in Rankin County: 214 in good condition, 147 fair, and 17 poor (4.5%). “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

I 20 E TO I 55 N
over OVER I 20 WB · built 1966
25,000 vehicles a day
I 20
over KCS RR/COUNTY ROAD · built 1967
22,000 vehicles a day
SR 25
over PLUMMER SLOUGH · built 1981
20,000 vehicles a day
I 20
over US 80 · built 1966
17,500 vehicles a day
US 80
over PEARL RIVER RELIEF · built 1938
16,000 vehicles a day
US 80
over KCS RR · built 1938
11,500 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 $52 million of work in Rankin County in fiscal 2025, about $331 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 Rankin 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 Rankin County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.

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

Nearby counties: Simpson County (25 mi) · Madison County (26 mi) · Scott County (26 mi) · Hinds County (30 mi) · Smith County (31 mi) · Copiah County (40 mi).