Best Places39212, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 39212, 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.
39212 ranks 29,445th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. State infrastructure pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in 39212
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.
39212's strengths and weaknesses
Where 39212 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 84% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$660 a month, better than 79% of zip codes
- Short commute21.3 minutes each way, better than 79% of zip codes
Where 39212 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 39212
A household needs to earn about $28,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 39212 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,627, 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 39212's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 39212
39212 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 39212.
Who works in 39212, and how
Work in 39212 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 39212
39212 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 39212 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 39212, month by month
39212 sees roughly 86 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 48° | 39° |
| April | 77° | 65° | 55° |
| July | 92° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 81° | 68° | 58° |
Flying in and out of 39212
The nearest airport, Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 156 miles away.
The best schools in and around 39212
Schools across 39212 average a C−, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bates Elementary SchoolD− · 15% proficient
- Key Elementary SchoolD− · 14% proficient
- Marshall Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bailey Middle Apac SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Byram Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Peeples Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Terry High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Wingfield High SchoolF · 11% proficient
- Forest Hill High SchoolF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 39212 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
39212 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 39212 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 39212 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 39212
Is 39212 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 39212 ranks 29,445th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, fast internet, and transit, and lowest on state infrastructure and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 39212 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $109,901. The overall cost of living runs about 28% below the national average. Set against a $53,627 median income, cost of living beats 33% of zip codes.
Is 39212 safe?
39212 is safer than 8% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $379 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 39212?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 59 with lows near 39. That works out to about 86 pleasant days a year, more than 52% of zip codes.
Is 39212 good for families?
Schools beat 20% of zip codes, crime safety beats 8%, and childcare runs $660 a month.
Compare 39212 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 39212. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 39212 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.
39212 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 39212: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 39212: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 39212: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 39212: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
39212 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.