Town file
Starkville, Mississippi
Starkville, Mississippi (Oktibbeha County, Mississippi) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 677, "Worse Than Murder" (26 February 2026).
- Town
- Starkville
- County
- Oktibbeha County
- State
- Mississippi
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 677
- Approximate location
- 33.463, -88.828
Episode 677 / 26 February 2026 / 180 min / full
Worse Than Murder
"James says the episode is Starkville, Mississippi, in northeastern Mississippi, and names Oktibbeha County." about 0:04:57
The case: Murder of Joey Fulgham (May 2003). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2026
- Population
- 24,578
- Median age
- 27
- Median household income
- $34,391
- Median home value
- $228,100
- Two-bedroom rent
- $790
- Cost of living
- 81 out of 100
- Religious
- 48.8%
- Property crime
- ▲ about 25% over the national average
- Violent crime
- ▼ about one quarter below the national average
History, in brief
- Board Town was established in 1835 as the county seat of Oktibbeha County. about 0:07:19
- It was renamed Starkville in honour of Revolutionary War hero General John Stark. about 0:07:31
- A log court house and a one-room jail house were built in 1835. about 0:07:49
- The jailhouse had no doors or windows; prisoners climbed a ladder to the roof and were lowered through a trap door on a rope. about 0:08:42
- In 1875 a fire destroyed 52 buildings, most of the town, including the whole business district. about 0:09:03
- A man named McLaughlin served as the local head of the Freedmen's Bureau, helped establish Black Methodist churches and set up a cooperative store for black people at his house. about 0:09:19
- The Ku Klux Klan attacked McLaughlin's store and tried to burn it down. about 0:09:28
- A yellow fever epidemic in 1898 led West Point, Columbus, Artesia and Casacusco to quarantine Starkville's railroads. about 0:09:54
- The quarantine caused a shortage of medical and other supplies, and the state had to intervene. about 0:10:16
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Loves living there and the kids love it, but the police are bad and will pull you over for anything."about 0:10:41
3 stars
"Loves the hometown hospitality and the community welcome, except the cops; wants the roads fixed because there are so many students and so many potholes."about 0:11:12
2 stars
"Lots of bad neighbourhoods, lots of robberies and some shootings."about 0:11:51
2 stars
"Grew up there and there are many genuinely nice people and a few good local restaurants, but no entertainment, little shopping, the Noxubee refuge now charges five dollars and the trails are overgrown; nothing like Las Vegas."about 0:12:01
1 star
"Hard to imagine a worse place to live; the only good thing is Mississippi State University, and the landscape architecture department has marred the town."about 0:13:21
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Booneville, Mississippi84 miles
- Vaughn, Mississippi88 miles
- Jasper, Alabama94 miles
- Falkner, Mississippi95 miles
- Walnut, Mississippi103 miles
- Sarah, Mississippi110 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.