A town of 14,231, settled in 1848. A typical home worth about $47K.
The 3 things Clarksdale does most differently from other towns.
John Lee Hooker
12 postcards, papers and photographs from public archives, and 8 places on the National Register.
17,962 people in 2010; 14,231 today.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 · ACS
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Nothing on the calendar.
Ordered by what stands out in Clarksdale. Another town gets a different order.
The typical Clarksdale home is worth about $47,000, about the same as a year ago, 76% below the Mississippi typical home.
40% of Clarksdale’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Memphis (6%), Tunica Resorts (5%) and Olive Branch (4%). Half commute less than 22 miles.
Clarksdale beats the Mississippi average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21.
| What stands out | Clarksdale | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 9.6% | 13.6% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.1% | 7.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 22.6% | 11.2% |
5.2 miles of trails across 8 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Nosef Park | 0.2 mi | 36 |
| 2. Soldiers Field – American Legion Fairgrounds | — | 13 |
| 3. Sasse Street Park | — | 10 |
The public schools Clarksdale’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 82% of Mississippi’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.
| School | Grades | Students | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clarksdale Collegiate Public Charter School | K–8 | 652 | D− |
| George H. Oliver Visual/Performing Arts Magnet School | PK–4 | 299 | D− |
| Kirkpatrick Health And Wellness Magnet School | PK–4 | 266 | D− |
| Booker T. Washington International Studies Magnet School | PK–4 | 247 | D− |
| Presbyterian Day School Private | PK–6 | 121 | |
| St. Elizabeth Catholic School Private | PK–6 | 117 |
Clarksdale has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. A typical July afternoon reaches 91°, a January night drops to 34°, and snow is almost unheard of.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 66% of U.S. communities.
Clarksdale's reported crime rate is well above Mississippi's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 135 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
1936
Cotton chopping on Mississippi Delta land near Clarksdale, Mississippi
Photo · Library of Congress. A different picture from Clarksdale’s archive appears here every day.
See all 12 archive items →8 places in Clarksdale on the National Register of Historic Places.
64 notable people were born in Clarksdale.
City in Mississippi, United States
Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, Clarksdale had a population of 14,903. It is located along the Sunflower River and named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19th century when he established a timber mill and business. Clarksdale is in the Mississippi Delta region and is an agricultural and trading center. Many African American musicians developed the blues here and took this original American music with them to Chicago and other northern cities during the Great Migration. The Clarksdale Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Coahoma County. It’s located in the Mississippi Delta r…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Clarksdale.
