Best Places39096, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 39096, 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.
39096 ranks 32,879th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 39096
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.
39096's strengths and weaknesses
Where 39096 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$532 a month, better than 92% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 67% of zip codes
Where 39096 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- School gradeD−, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$34,258 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 39096
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 39096 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $34,258, 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 39096's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 39096
39096 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 39096.
Who works in 39096, and how
Work in 39096 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 36%
Life in 39096
39096 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 39096 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 39096, month by month
39096 sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 48° | 38° |
| April | 78° | 65° | 53° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 82° | 68° | 56° |
Flying in and out of 39096
The nearest airport, Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International, is about 67 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 137 miles away.
The best schools in and around 39096
Schools across 39096 average a D−, better than 2% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- A. W. Watson ElementaryF · 8% proficient
- Jefferson Co Elem SchoolF · 4% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jefferson Co Jr HiD− · 15% proficient
- Port Gibson Middle SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Jefferson Co HighD− · 17% proficient
- Port Gibson High SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 39096 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
39096 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 39096 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 39096
Is 39096 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 39096 ranks 32,879th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, affordable childcare, and low property taxes, and lowest on internet speeds and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 39096 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $101,872. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $34,258 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 39096 safe?
39096 is safer than 3% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $504 per resident a year.
Compare 39096 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 39096. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 39096 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.
39096 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 39096: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 39096: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 39096: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 39096: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
39096 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.