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%

Wiggins$1,110/mo

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

Ripley$890/mo

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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

4Wiggins

15Ripley

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

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

Left end = #1 in Mississippi. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Wiggins’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

WigginsRipley

Snow a year0″2″

January low41°F 29°F

July high90°F 90°F

Growing season (days)260d 210d

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

Outdoors & history

WigginsRipley

Trails3 mi 1 mi

Conserved land0%0.8%

Settled1904 —

National Register places—2

Archive photos—7

Famous people born here7 10

Community

WigginsRipley

Library hours a week40 hrs 52 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.

WigginsMS RipleyMS

Wiggins ↔ Ripley268 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

WigginsRipley

People

Population 4,293Lowest 5,377Highest

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

Median age 42.3±3.5Lowest 10% above MS 42.5±1.8Highest 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 18.9%±4.5Lowest MS: 23.3% 20.6%±5.1Highest 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+ 13.9%±4Lowest MS: 17.2% 25.9%±4.9Highest MS: 17.2%

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

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.2%±2.9Highest MS: 6.1% 3.1%±1.7Lowest 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 $49,870±$13kLowest 12% below MS $55,444±$14kHighest about the MS average

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $112,700±$18kLowest 34% below MS $117,200±$37kHighest 31% 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 $883±$58Highest 7% below MS $735±$122Lowest 23% 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 $1,236Highest about the MS average $1,026Lowest 16% below MS

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 57.4%±22.1Highest MS: 51.3% 39.1%±10.6Lowest 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 24.8%Highest MS: 18.9% 20.1%Lowest MS: 18.9%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 0.2%±1.2Lowest MS: 5.9% 0.8%±1.1Highest 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 28.5%Highest 18.7%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 32.8 miHighest 21.8 miLowest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in RipleyFew work in Wiggins

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0%Lowest 0.8%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 2.5 miHighest 0.7 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2 2

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

Schools

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

School district Stone County School DistrictSouth Tippah School District

High school in town Stone High SchoolRipley High School

Students per teacherat that high school 12.6Highest 12.1Lowest

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.

Wiggins neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Wiggins’s Town Square.

Ripley neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Ripley’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Wiggins and Ripley

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

Bordering Wiggins

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Bond636 people

Towns like Wiggins

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Louisville5,983 people · $137K homes

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Winona4,183 people · $123K homes

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Amory6,500 people · $162K homes

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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.

Wiggins vs Ripley

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 Wiggins and Ripley

Bordering Wiggins

Towns like Wiggins

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