States · Mississippi · Bolivar County

Shelby, Mississippi.

A city in Bolivar County. Zillow publishes no home prices for it: see Bolivar County’s.

Living in Shelby, Bolivar County, Mississippi

Shelby is a city of 2,021 people in Bolivar County. Unemployment in Bolivar County was 4.3% in August 2026, and the county had 0.6% fewer jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most people in Bolivar County work in schools and health care, then shops.

People 2,021 in the 2020 census
Household income Too few homes in Shelby for the Census survey to measure.
Unemployment 4.3% Bolivar County, August 2026; 5.0% a year before
Homes Too few homes in Shelby for the Census survey to measure.
  • 746households
  • 22%of adults have a degree

What people in Bolivar County work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care28%
  • Shops (retail)13%
  • Manufacturing11%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment9%
  • Professional and business services7%
  • Government6%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Bolivar County had 10,505 jobs in 2025, 0.6% fewer than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 52° and 33°; warmest in August, 92° and 70° 40° 60° 80° 100° J 52° 33° F M A M J J A 92° 70° S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 52° and 33°; warmest in August, 92° and 70° 40° 60° 80° 100° J 52° 33° F M A M J J A 92° 70° S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 52° and lows near 33°; warmest in August, with highs near 92° and lows near 70°. About 54 inches of rain a year, and little or no snow.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Cleveland North weather station, 11 miles away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Bolivar County

  1. Delta State UniversityUniversity or college629
  2. Baxter HealthcareBottles, plastics, manufacturing510
  3. Cleveland School DistSchool district460FTE
  4. Bolivar Medical CenterGeneral hospital333FTE
  5. WalmartWarehouse clubs and supercenters288
  6. West Bolivar Cons School DistSchool district180FTE
  7. North Bolivar Cons School DistSchool district147FTE
  8. Needle Specialty ProductsNeedles, hypodermic and suture, manufacturing143

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 23 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 2,454 people in all across the county; Shelby has none of its own. Colleges come from IPEDS (NCES, 2023–24), school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24) and hospitals from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. TornadoesVery high
  2. DroughtRelatively high
  3. Inland floodingRelatively high
  4. Ice stormsRelatively high
  5. EarthquakesRelatively high
  6. Heat wavesRelatively high

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Shelby’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively high. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Bolivar County.