Mississippi · county 28133

Sunflower County, Mississippi: public records at a glance

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

23,029 people (2024 Census estimate, −10.4% since 2020)
698 square miles of land · 33 people per square mile

How Sunflower County compares — against the other counties in Mississippi

23,029 — people: 39th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$14,163 — spending per student in its school districts: 15th highest of 81 Mississippi counties.
67.2 years — life expectancy: 71st highest of 81 Mississippi counties.
13.3% — share of adults under 65 without health insurance: 51st highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
39.6% — child poverty: 14th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
70.4% — households with broadband internet: 65th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$43,980 — median household income: 63rd highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
26.0% — share of bridges rated poor: the highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$227 — federal grant dollars per resident: 56th highest of 82 Mississippi counties.
$17.9 million — expected yearly losses from natural hazards: 26th 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 Sunflower County

14 active community water systems list Sunflower County in the area they serve, reporting 27,036 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).

CITY OF INDIANOLA groundwater · local government · MS0670006	9,464 served
FMH WATER ASSOCIATION groundwater · public/private · MS0670005	2,740 served
CITY OF RULEVILLE groundwater · local government · MS0670011	2,657 served
MS STATE PENITENTIARY-MN LN groundwater · state · MS0670014	2,500 served
TOWN OF MOORHEAD groundwater · local government · MS0670008	2,301 served
CITY OF DREW groundwater · local government · MS0670004	2,300 served
TOWN OF SUNFLOWER groundwater · local government · MS0670012	1,900 served
SO. SUNFLOWER W/A-INVERNESS buys groundwater · public/private · MS0670015	898 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 43 people were held in Sunflower County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2020), or 247 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2015 it was about 57.

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

1 school district has its office in Sunflower County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.

SUNFLOWER CO CONSOLIDATE SCH DIST2,929 students

Spent $64.3 million — $41.5 million to run schools, about $14,163 per student, plus $21.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $15.6 million local (mostly property tax), $19 million state, $18.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $31.1 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 — Sunflower County beside Mississippi

Life expectancy67.2 years · Mississippi 71.9 years

Adults under 65 without health insurance13.3% · Mississippi 13.1%

Children in poverty39.6% · Mississippi 24.3%

Households without enough food (food insecurity)19.7% · Mississippi 18.8%

Households with broadband internet70.4% · Mississippi 81.9%

Households with severe housing problems16.5% · Mississippi 14.3%

Residents per primary care doctor2,822 · Mississippi 1,875

Residents per mental health provider2,719 · Mississippi 436

Unemployment4.6% · Mississippi 3.2%

Median household income$43,980 · 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 Sunflower County about $17.9 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Very High.

The costliest hazards here

Cold wave$5 million a year · Relatively High

River and inland flooding$4.9 million a year · Relatively Low

Tornado$2.6 million a year · Relatively Moderate

Earthquake$1.8 million a year · Relatively Low

Drought$962,126 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

169 bridges in Sunflower County: 73 in good condition, 52 fair, and 44 poor (26.0%). “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

US 82 over SUNFLOWER RIVER · built 1933	4,000 vehicles a day
US 49W over SUNFLOWER RIVER · built 1962	3,450 vehicles a day
SR 8 over QUIVER RIVER · built 1953	2,100 vehicles a day
SR 3 over QUIVER RIVER · built 1947	1,000 vehicles a day
SR 32 over QUIVER RIVER · built 1962	540 vehicles a day
FISACKERLY ROAD over DRAINAGE CANAL · built 1971	280 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 $5.9 million of work in Sunflower County in fiscal 2025, about $227 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 Sunflower 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 Sunflower County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.

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

Nearby counties: Leflore County (18 mi) · Bolivar County (21 mi) · Washington County (30 mi) · Humphreys County (33 mi) · Tallahatchie County (34 mi) · Desha County, AR (40 mi).