City Score: Charleston, MS

One number for Charleston, MS: the condition of the city from public data and how the church is moving, updated weekly, every indicator footnoted to its source. Back to Charleston, MS. In Mississippi.

The score

Charleston, MS scores 69 out of 100 on the Joy Project City Score. Condition 69 (the city from public data, 60%) and Movement (how the church is moving, 40%). How the score is built.

The condition of Charleston, MS

  • What Charleston is up against: 22 out of 100 — Better than 93% of cities, up 6 points
  • Where grace is growing: 89 out of 100 — Better than 92% of cities
  • Marriage & family: 25 out of 100 — Better than 8% of cities, up 3 points
  • Christian liberty: 82 out of 100 — Better than 89% of cities, down 1 points

What affected it

  • This quarter: Drug overdose deaths up 29 percentile points (What Charleston is up against)
  • This quarter: Marriages down 17 percentile points (Marriage & family)
  • This quarter: Adults 25-44 married up 14 percentile points (Marriage & family)

Sources

  1. Violent crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer · 2025 · Mississippi · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  2. Property crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer · 2025 · Mississippi · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  3. Sexually transmitted infections: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  4. Drug overdose deaths: CDC NCHS, provisional county drug overdose deaths (VSRR) · 2025 · Mississippi (9 counties summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  5. Adult entertainment outlets: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  6. Gambling outlets: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  7. Cannabis outlets: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  8. Liquor outlets and bars: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  9. Predatory lenders: OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  10. Abortion facilities (mapped): OpenStreetMap outlet counts (Metro pulse, metro_reformation_stats) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  11. Church adherents: 2020 U.S. Religion Census · 2020 · Mississippi · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  12. Congregations: 2020 U.S. Religion Census · 2020 · Mississippi · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  13. Charitable giving: IRS Statistics of Income, county data · 2023 · Mississippi (82 counties summed) · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  14. Given to local needs in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · fetched Oct 28, 2026 · verified in Joy
  15. Needs met in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · fetched Oct 28, 2026 · verified in Joy
  16. Volunteers mobilized in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · fetched Oct 28, 2026 · verified in Joy
  17. New believers in Joy: Verified in Joy (the impact ledger) · fetched Oct 28, 2026 · verified in Joy
  18. Children with married parents: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Mississippi · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  19. Adults 25-44 married: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Mississippi · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  20. Cohabiting households: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Mississippi · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  21. Divorces: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Mississippi · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  22. Marriages: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year · 2020-2024 · Mississippi · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  23. Births to unmarried mothers: CDC WONDER · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  24. Religious Liberty in the States score: Religious Liberty in the States · 2026 · Mississippi · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  25. Safeguards fully in law: Religious Liberty in the States · 2026 · Mississippi · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  26. State Religious Freedom Restoration Act: Religious Liberty in the States · 2026 · Mississippi · fetched Oct 28, 2026
  27. Anti-Christian hate crimes: FBI Crime Data Explorer · 2025 · Mississippi · fetched Oct 28, 2026

Every indicator

What Charleston is up against — 22 out of 100

Where grace is growing — 89 out of 100

Marriage & family — 25 out of 100

Christian liberty — 82 out of 100

  • Religious Liberty in the States score: 66.7 % of the edition's safeguards in state law, better than 89% of cities, down 2 points · 2026, Mississippi · Religious Liberty in the States
  • Safeguards fully in law: 13 of the edition's safeguards, better than 95% of cities · 2026, Mississippi · Religious Liberty in the States
  • State Religious Freedom Restoration Act: 1 1 = full protection, 0 = none, better than 70% of cities · 2026, Mississippi · Religious Liberty in the States
  • Anti-Christian hate crimes: 0.0 incidents per 100,000, better than 74% of cities · 2025, Mississippi · FBI Crime Data Explorer

Quote and download

Cite it as: Joy Project City Score v1.0, Charleston, MS, 2026-Q4, staging.joyproject.com/cities/charleston-ms/score

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