A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Ripley$890/mo

Typical home $149K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.88% · or rent about $735/mo · Housing →

Wiggins$1,110/mo

Typical home $181K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.10% · or rent about $883/mo · Housing →

The difference: $230 a month, about $2,700 a year, between Wiggins and Ripley.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Ripley places higher on 15 of 19 MS lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Mississippi ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

–RipleyNot graded C−WigginsSafer than 19% of U.S. towns

Schools

A−RipleyBetter than 81% of districts in the state A−WigginsBetter than 80% of districts in the state

Health

DRipleyHealthier than 14% of U.S. towns DWigginsHealthier than 9% of U.S. towns

15Ripley

4Wiggins

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 104 towns #2#43 Highest graduation rateSchools · 93 towns #15#50 Cheapest rentCost of living · 99 towns #21#45 Fewest smokersHealth · 104 towns #41#66 Lowest depressionHealth · 104 towns #50#74 Most new homesHousing · 88 towns #35#53 Lowest property taxCost of living · 102 towns #27#44 HealthiestHealth · 104 towns #46#63

Left end = #1 in Mississippi. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Ripley’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

RipleyWiggins

Snow a year2″0″

January low29°F 41°F

July high90°F 90°F

Growing season (days)210d 260d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)56th 84th

Outdoors & history

RipleyWiggins

Trails1 mi 3 mi

Conserved land0.8%0%

Settled—1904

National Register places2 —

Archive photos7 —

Famous people born here10 7

Community

RipleyWiggins

Library hours a week52 hrs 40 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

268 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

RipleyMS WigginsMS

Ripley ↔ Wiggins268 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Mississippi average

RipleyWiggins

People

Population 5,377Highest 4,293Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +1.2%Highest -2.7%Lowest

Median age 42.5±1.8Highest 10% above MS 42.3±3.5Lowest 10% above MS

Ripley and Wiggins are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 20.6%±5.1Highest MS: 23.3% 18.9%±4.5Lowest MS: 23.3%

Ripley and Wiggins are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 25.9%±4.9Highest MS: 17.2% 13.9%±4Lowest MS: 17.2%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 21.7%Highest MS: 25.1% 17.1%Lowest MS: 25.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.1%±1.7Lowest MS: 6.1% 4.2%±2.9Highest MS: 6.1%

Wiggins and Ripley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $55,444±$14kHighest about the MS average $49,870±$13kLowest 12% below MS

Ripley and Wiggins are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $117,200±$37kHighest 31% below MS $112,700±$18kLowest 34% below MS

Ripley and Wiggins are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $735±$122Lowest 23% below MS $883±$58Highest 7% below MS

Wiggins and Ripley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,026Lowest 16% below MS $1,236Highest about the MS average

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 39.1%±10.6Lowest MS: 51.3% 57.4%±22.1Highest MS: 51.3%

Wiggins and Ripley are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 20.1%Lowest MS: 18.9% 24.8%Highest MS: 18.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 62.3%Highest MS: 70% 59.8%Lowest MS: 70%

Typical home builtmedian year 1980Highest 6 yrs older than MS 1978Lowest 8 yrs older than MS

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 24 minLowest 7% below MS 26 minHighest about the MS average

Work from home 0.8%±1.1Highest MS: 5.9% 0.2%±1.2Lowest MS: 5.9%

Ripley and Wiggins are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 18.7%Lowest 28.5%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 21.8 miLowest 32.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.15Lowest 1.97Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Tupelo (7%)Hattiesburg (9%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WigginsFew work in Ripley

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.8%Highest 0%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.7 miLowest 2.5 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miLowest 0.2 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2 2

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 25.6Lowest 29.8Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #31 of 92 in MS #16 of 92 in MS

School district South Tippah School DistrictStone County School District

High school in town Ripley High SchoolStone High School

Students per teacherat that high school 12.1Lowest 12.6Highest

Mississippi average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Ripley neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Ripley’s Town Square.

Wiggins neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Wiggins’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Ripley and Wiggins

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Towns like Ripley

+ Compare

Amory6,500 people · $162K homes

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Crystal Springs4,752 people · $113K homes

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Louisville5,983 people · $137K homes

+ Compare

Columbia6,632 people · $132K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Mississippi towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Ripley vs Wiggins

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $230 more a month in Wiggins

Ripley places higher on 15 of 19 MS lists

What daily life feels like in each

268 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Ripley and Wiggins

Towns like Ripley

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