MS
Mississippi State University
1.43 incidents / 1,000 students
Mississippi State, MS · Clery Act 2024 · Public
Mississippi State University
Across 2022–2024, Mississippi State University reported 75 incidents in the Clery Criminal Offenses section, and the yearly count fell over that span (largest filed category: Rape). Nearby same-state same-level comparison: University of Mississippi.
- 1.43
- Incidents / 1k students
- #805
- Rank of 2,072
- #20
- MS rank
- 23,150
- Enrolled students
1.43 reported score-category incidents per 1,000 students
Mississippi State University reports 1.43 2024 score-category incidents per 1,000 - 79% below California State University-Los Angeles. Similar-enrollment scored peers: California State University-Los Angeles (2.76/1k); University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus (7.14/1k); University of New Mexico-Main Campus (11.42/1k); California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (5.51/1k); University of Louisville (7.59/1k). Same-state same-level set also includes University of Mississippi (3.02/1k); University of Southern Mississippi (0.84/1k); Jackson State University (3.95/1k); William Carey University (0.19/1k); Belhaven University (0.24/1k); Mississippi College (1.92/1k); Alcorn State University (2.34/1k); Delta State University (0.38/1k). Largest Criminal Offenses total across filed years: Rape.
Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey
- incidents / 1,000 students
- 1.43
- of 2,072 ranked nationally
- #805
- safer than ranked campuses its size
- 61%
- Criminal Offenses, 2024
- 21
Source: U.S. Department of Education OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey
Data updated August 2026
Clery Act plate
Sheet 176080 · Mississippi State University 1.43/1k score rate · #805/2,072
RATE-LOW · RANK-MID · ST-MID · BELOW-PEER · ZERO-NONE · TREND-DOWN · CAT-LEAD · ENR-LARGE · FIRE-ZERO
- RATE-LOW 1.43/1k
- RANK-MID #805/2,072
- ST-MID #20 in state
- BELOW-PEER California State University-Los Angeles · 1.34 back
- ZERO-NONE Scored
- TREND-DOWN ↓ 12%
- CAT-LEAD Rape
- ENR-LARGE 23,150
- FIRE-ZERO 0 fires filed
Nearest enrollment peer: California State University-Los Angeles (+1.34/1k)
Mississippi State University sheet RATE-LOW · RANK-MID · ST-MID · BELOW-PEER · ZERO-NONE · TREND-DOWN · CAT-LEAD · ENR-LARGE · FIRE-ZERO · peer California State University-Los Angeles. Codes from this campus OPE filing: score-category rate, national/state rank, named enrollment peer, zero posture, Criminal Offenses trend, lead category, enrollment band, fire filing. Not a moving recommendation.
Clery plate RATE-LOW · RANK-MID · ST-MID · BELOW-PEER · ZERO-NONE · TREND-DOWN · CAT-LEAD · ENR-LARGE · FIRE-ZERO. Nearest similar-enrollment peer is California State University-Los Angeles (+1.34/1k). National rank #805 of 2,072 scored campuses. Instrument codes from this campus OPE sheet; compare similarly sized peers before treating any single rate as decisive.
Mississippi State University reports 1.43 2024 score-category incidents per 1,000 - 79% below California State University-Los Angeles. Similar-enrollment scored peers: California State University-Los Angeles (2.76/1k); University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus (7.14/1k); University of New Mexico-Main Campus (11.42/1k); California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (5.51/1k); University of Louisville (7.59/1k). Same-state same-level set also includes University of Mississippi (3.02/1k); University of Southern Mississippi (0.84/1k); Jackson State University (3.95/1k); William Carey University (0.19/1k); Belhaven University (0.24/1k); Mississippi College (1.92/1k); Alcorn State University (2.34/1k); Delta State University (0.38/1k). Largest Criminal Offenses total across filed years: Rape.
Peer-rate neighbourhood around Mississippi State University
Lowest/highest enrollment peers plus campuses nearest Mississippi on score-category rate. Full ladder: /rankings/safest-campuses.
- Mississippi State University · this campus · lowest 1.43
Mississippi State University — this campus · lowest
1.43 per 1,000 students
- California State University-Los Angeles · near 2.76
California State University-Los Angeles — near
2.76 per 1,000 students
- California Polytechnic State University-San · near
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo — near
5.51 per 1,000 students
- University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz · near
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus — near
7.14 per 1,000 students
- University of New Mexico-Main · highest peer
University of New Mexico-Main Campus — highest peer
11.42 per 1,000 students
What this shows Neighbourhood of similar-enrollment peers around Mississippi State University's 1.43/1k rate, not a full-corpus distribution reprint.
Reporting-period change
What changed in 2024
Mississippi State University decreased from 30 to 21 reported on-campus incidents between the 2023 and 2024 reporting years in the U.S. Department of Education OPE Campus Safety Survey.
This is a change in reported incidents, not a measure of individual safety. Enrollment, reporting practice, and category coverage can affect the count.
See national reporting-year changesSignature insight · size does not equal danger
Campus size vs reported safety rate
Among 17 MS 4-year peers in this comparison, Mississippi State University is larger than 94% and safer-reporting than 50% - the larger, safer-reporting quadrant. Axes are within-sample percentiles so outliers share the same frame; a higher safety percentile means a lower Clery incidents-per-1,000 rate.
Read the chart as text
- Point 1: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 100, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 31
- Point 2: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 88, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 56
- Point 3: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 81, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 19
- Point 4: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 75, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 81
- Point 5: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 69, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 75
- Point 6: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 63, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 44
- Point 7: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 56, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 38
- Point 8: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 50, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 69
- Point 9: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 44, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 13
- Point 10: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 38, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 63
- Point 11: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 31, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 25
- Point 12: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 25, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 88
- Point 13: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 19, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 6
- Point 14: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 13, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 0
- Point 15: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 6, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 88
- Point 16: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 0, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 88
- Mississippi State University: Enrollment size, percentile in sample 94, Safer-reporting percentile (lower rate) 50
Read the chart as a table
| Campus | Enrollment | Rate / 1k | Size pct | Safety pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeastern Baptist College | 93 | 0.00 | 0 | 88 |
| Wesley Biblical Seminary | 170 | 0.00 | 6 | 88 |
| Rust College | 467 | 27.84 | 13 | 0 |
| Millsaps College | 593 | 15.18 | 19 | 6 |
| Blue Mountain Christian University | 968 | 0.00 | 25 | 88 |
| Tougaloo College | 1,301 | 3.84 | 31 | 25 |
| Mississippi University for Women | 2,193 | 0.46 | 38 | 63 |
| Mississippi Valley State University | 2,205 | 4.08 | 44 | 13 |
| Delta State University | 2,654 | 0.38 | 50 | 69 |
| Alcorn State University | 2,995 | 2.34 | 56 | 38 |
| Mississippi College | 4,164 | 1.92 | 63 | 44 |
| Mississippi State University (this campus) | 23,150 | 1.43 | 94 | 50 |
Sample of 12 campuses from the plot (sorted by enrollment). Source: U.S. Department of Education OPE Campus Safety Survey + IPEDS enrollment. Rate = on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students; lower is safer-reporting, not a personal-risk forecast.
Enrollment scale
How campus size shapes the safety figures
With 23,150 enrolled students, Mississippi State University is the 165th largest of the 5,585 institutions in this dataset with a reported enrollment, ahead of 5,420 of them. Closest same-state same-level scored peers by enrollment: University of Mississippi (3.02/1k); University of Southern Mississippi (0.84/1k); Jackson State University (3.95/1k); William Carey University (0.19/1k); Belhaven University (0.24/1k); Mississippi College (1.92/1k); Alcorn State University (2.34/1k); Delta State University (0.38/1k). The score above normalizes 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students, so compare it with similarly sized campuses instead of treating a higher raw count as evidence that a campus is less safe (California State University-Los Angeles is the nearest similar-enrollment comparison on this profile).
What changed between 2023 and 2024
Reported on-campus incidents at Mississippi State University fell from 30 to 21 (-30%). The increase shows up in Fondling (5 to 9). Falling over the same period: Burglary (8 to 1), Motor Vehicle Theft (7 to 4) and Rape (10 to 7).
This describes reported incidents, not crime. Clery counts move with reporting policy, awareness campaigns and how a campus staffs its security authorities, so a rise can reflect better capture of reports and a fall can reflect worse capture. One year of movement at a single campus is not a trend.
What actually gets reported at Mississippi State University
Across 3 reporting years, on-campus incidents were recorded in 4 Clery Act categories here: Rape, Fondling, Motor Vehicle Theft and Burglary.
The remaining 7 categories were reported with no on-campus incidents, among them Aggravated Assault, Arson, Incest and Murder / Non-Negligent Manslaughter. Under the Clery Act that zero is an affirmative report that nothing in the category occurred, not an absence of data, which is why the table below lists those rows rather than dropping them.
Counts describe incidents reported under the Clery Act for the on-campus geography. Reporting practice varies between institutions, so counts are not a direct measure of relative safety.
Crime Statistics by Year
11 categories 3 reporting years on-campus onlyMississippi State University: Criminal Offenses by year
Declining 12% (24 → 21 incidents)
Read the chart as text
| Period | On-campus incidents |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 24 |
| 2023 | 30 |
| 2024 | 21 |
| Crime Type | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rape | 7 | 10 | 12 |
| Fondling | 9 | 5 | 8 |
| Motor Vehicle Theft | 4 | 7 | 3 |
| Burglary | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Aggravated Assault | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arson | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Incest | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murder / Non-Negligent Manslaughter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Negligent Manslaughter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Statutory Rape | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: US Dept of Education OPE Campus Safety Survey. Table figures show the Criminal Offenses section; other Clery tables are separate
Fire Safety
| Year | Fires | Inj. | Deaths | Cat I | Cat II |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Arrests & Disciplinary Actions
18 category-year records| Category | Year | Arrests | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drugs | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2024 | 9 | 20 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2024 | 15 | 83 |
| Weapons | 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Weapons | 2024 | 5 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2023 | 27 | 22 |
| Liquor | 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2023 | 8 | 112 |
| Weapons | 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Weapons | 2023 | 9 | 4 |
| Drugs | 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Drugs | 2022 | 29 | 42 |
| Liquor | 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Liquor | 2022 | 20 | 97 |
| Weapons | 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Weapons | 2022 | 6 | 0 |
Mississippi State University vs peer institutions
Side-by-side safety scores for 3 peers of similar enrollment
Scores are $2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 enrolled students (lower is fewer in those categories).
CA
California State University-Los Angeles
2.76 incidents / 1,000 students
CO
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
7.14 incidents / 1,000 students
Cost context
Where Mississippi State University sits on price and outcomes
At $17,595, Mississippi State University's reported average net price is cheaper than 69% among 49 Mississippi colleges with a reported figure. The state median is $13,265.
- $17,595
- average net price
- $13,265
- Mississippi median
- 2.0×
- six-year earnings to median debt
- $8,655
- reported income-bracket spread
Net price moves with income here, but not sharply: $14,332 for families reporting under $30,000 against $22,987 above $110,000, a difference of $8,655. Aid narrows the gap without closing it, so the $17,595 average sits reasonably close to what most brackets report.
Six-year median earnings of $43,487 run about 2.5 times the annual net price. The margin is real but narrow, so how many years of price a student actually pays matters a great deal here.
Average net price reflects grant and scholarship aid for aided students, not a personal offer. Earnings cover former students who received federal aid; neither measure predicts an individual's outcome.
Academic & Financial Profile
Tuition & Costs
- In-State Tuition
- $10,202
- Out-of-State Tuition
- $27,637
- Avg Net Price
- $17,595
- Median Debt
- $22,142
- Pell Grant Recipients
- 29%
Admissions
- Acceptance Rate
- 78%
- SAT Average
- 1219
- SAT Math Range
- 540-680
- ACT Average
- 26
- ACT Range
- 21-29
Outcomes
- 4-Year Graduation Rate
- 65%
- Retention Rate
- 83%
- Median Earnings (6yr)
- $43,487
- Median Earnings (10yr)
- $51,513
- Loan Repayment (3yr)
- 78%
Source: IPEDS & College Scorecard. Methodology.
Similar Institutions
Showing 5 of 394 similar institutions by enrollment size.
California State University-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · 23,163 enrolled
Safety Score 2.76
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
Denver, CO · 23,124 enrolled
Safety Score 7.14
University of New Mexico-Main Campus
Albuquerque, NM · 23,124 enrolled
Safety Score 11.42
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA · 23,069 enrolled
Safety Score 5.51
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY · 23,065 enrolled
Safety Score 7.59
Closest by National Rank
Mississippi State University (national rank #805) sits near Lindsey Wilson College (#806) and Strayer University-South Carolina (#804) on the scored national list, nearest by rank, not by size or state.
Nationwide campuses with similar scale or Clery rate
Two Clery-derived peer sets for Mississippi State University, both outside MS so the neighborhoods are not state containment (Similar Institutions and national-rank neighbors above stay enrollment- or rank-based).
Similar enrollment (nationwide)
California State University-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · 23,163 enrolled
Safety score 2.76
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
Denver, CO · 23,124 enrolled
Safety score 7.14
University of New Mexico-Main Campus
Albuquerque, NM · 23,124 enrolled
Safety score 11.42
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA · 23,069 enrolled
Safety score 5.51
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY · 23,065 enrolled
Safety score 7.59
University of Nevada-Reno
Reno, NV · 23,024 enrolled
Safety score 4.34
Montclair State University
Montclair, NJ · 23,375 enrolled
Safety score 2.70
Santa Monica College
Santa Monica, CA · 23,453 enrolled
Safety score 0.47
Similar 2024 Clery rate (nationwide)
Strayer University-South Carolina
Greenville, SC · 2,110 enrolled
Safety score 1.42
Lindsey Wilson College
Columbia, KY · 4,193 enrolled
Safety score 1.43
Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA · 104,327 enrolled
Safety score 1.42
Dickinson State University
Dickinson, ND · 1,410 enrolled
Safety score 1.42
Universidad Central de Bayamon
Bayamã³N, PR · 698 enrolled
Safety score 1.43
University of Hawaii Maui College
Kahului, HI · 2,792 enrolled
Safety score 1.43
Suffolk University
Boston, MA · 6,356 enrolled
Safety score 1.42
Saint Martin's University
Lacey, WA · 1,390 enrolled
Safety score 1.44
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mississippi State University safe?
Mississippi State University has a safety score of 1.43 (2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 enrolled students) and ranks #805 nationally out of 2,072 ranked institutions - nearest similar-enrollment comparison: California State University-Los Angeles (2.76/1k). Same-state same-level set: University of Mississippi (3.02/1k); University of Southern Mississippi (0.84/1k); Jackson State University (3.95/1k); William Carey University (0.19/1k); Belhaven University (0.24/1k); Mississippi College (1.92/1k); Alcorn State University (2.34/1k); Delta State University (0.38/1k).
What crimes are reported at Mississippi State University?
For calendar year 2024, Mississippi State University reported Fondling (9), Rape (7), Motor Vehicle Theft (4) and Burglary (1) in the Criminal Offenses section. Every other category in that section was reported at zero; other Clery tables are separate.
How does Mississippi State University compare to similar schools?
Mississippi State University reports 79% fewer 2024 score-category incidents per 1,000 than California State University-Los Angeles. Scored similar-enrollment peers on this page: California State University-Los Angeles (2.76/1k); University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus (7.14/1k); University of New Mexico-Main Campus (11.42/1k); California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (5.51/1k); University of Louisville (7.59/1k). Same-state same-level set: University of Mississippi (3.02/1k); University of Southern Mississippi (0.84/1k); Jackson State University (3.95/1k); William Carey University (0.19/1k); Belhaven University (0.24/1k); Mississippi College (1.92/1k); Alcorn State University (2.34/1k); Delta State University (0.38/1k).
Does Mississippi State University have fire safety data?
Yes. Mississippi State University reports fire safety data for on-campus residential facilities, including total fires, injuries, deaths, and fire damage categories. No fires were reported in the most recent year.
Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.
PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.
PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice.