Best Places38962, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 38962, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
38962 ranks 32,789th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 38962
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.
38962's strengths and weaknesses
Where 38962 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$540 a month, better than 92% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 63% of zip codes
Where 38962 ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Household income$42,146 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Short commute40.2 minutes each way, better than only 4% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 38962
A household needs to earn about $15,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 38962 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $42,146, 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 38962's effective rate of 0.45%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 38962
38962 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 38962.
Who works in 38962, and how
Work in 38962 centers on manufacturing and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 38962
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 38962.
What the weather is like in 38962, month by month
38962 sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 46° | 37° |
| April | 77° | 65° | 55° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 80° | 66° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 38962
The nearest airport, Greenville Mid-Delta, is about 55 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 79 miles away.
The best schools in and around 38962
Schools across 38962 average an F, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Charleston Elementary SchoolF · 4% proficient
Top middle schools
- Charleston Middle SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Charleston High SchoolF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 38962 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
38962 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 38962 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 38962
Is 38962 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 38962 ranks 32,789th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a stable housing market, and low property taxes, and lowest on the schools and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 38962 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $61,710. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $42,146 median income, cost of living beats 11% of zip codes.
Is 38962 safe?
38962 is safer than 5% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $418 per resident a year.
Compare 38962 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 38962. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 38962 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.
38962 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 38962: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 38962: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 38962: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 38962: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
38962 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.