Best Places38606, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 38606, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
38606 ranks 24,269th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 38606
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
38606's strengths and weaknesses
Where 38606 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$526 a month, better than 93% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 69% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 67% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 63% of zip codes
Where 38606 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 38606
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 38606 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,181, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 38606's effective rate of 0.64%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 38606
38606's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 38606.
Who works in 38606, and how
Work in 38606 centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 38606
38606 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 70% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 38606 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 38606, month by month
38606 sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 41° | 33° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 51° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 76° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of 38606
Memphis International sits about 51 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.4 million passengers in 2025, with 78 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 38606
Schools across 38606 average a C+, better than 40% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Della Davidson ElementaryB+ · 54% proficient
- Lafayette Upper Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Pope Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oxford Intermediate SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Lafayette Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Batesville Junior High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Lafayette High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Oxford High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- South Panola High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 38606 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
38606 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 38606 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 38606
Is 38606 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 38606 ranks 24,269th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a stable housing market, and tree cover, and lowest on state infrastructure and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 38606 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $148,004. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $64,181 median income, cost of living beats 39% of zip codes.
Is 38606 safe?
38606 is safer than 33% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $223 per resident a year.
Compare 38606 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 38606. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 38606 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
38606 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 38606: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 38606: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 38606: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 38606: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
38606 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.