Best Places39208, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 39208, 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.
39208 ranks 19,829th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 39208
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.
39208's strengths and weaknesses
Where 39208 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$650 a month, better than 80% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 77% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 70% of zip codes
Where 39208 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 39208
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 39208 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,286, 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 39208's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 39208
39208 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 39208.
Who works in 39208, and how
Work in 39208 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 39208
39208 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 39208 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 39208, month by month
39208 sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 47° | 36° |
| April | 80° | 65° | 52° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 83° | 68° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 39208
The nearest airport, Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 157 miles away.
The best schools in and around 39208
Schools across 39208 average a B+, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Northwest Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Flowood Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Pearl Upper SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Brandon Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Northwest Rankin Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Florence Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Brandon High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Pearl High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Northwest Rankin High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 39208 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
39208 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 39208 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 39208 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 6% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 39208
Is 39208 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 39208 ranks 19,829th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, affordable childcare, and low property taxes, and lowest on state infrastructure and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 39208 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $180,280. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $69,286 median income, cost of living beats 46% of zip codes.
Is 39208 safe?
39208 is safer than 44% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $193 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 39208?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 36. That works out to about 75 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of zip codes.
Is 39208 good for families?
Schools beat 70% of zip codes, crime safety beats 44%, and childcare runs $650 a month.
Compare 39208 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 39208. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 39208 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.
39208 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 39208: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 39208: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 39208: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 39208: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
39208 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.