Best Places39501, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 39501, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
39501 ranks 31,880th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 39501
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.
39501's strengths and weaknesses
Where 39501 ranks high
- Short commute17.3 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 39501 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$37,604 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 39501
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 39501 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $37,604, 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 39501's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 39501
39501'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 39501.
Who works in 39501, and how
Work in 39501 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in 39501
39501 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 73% of zip codes. The coast is about 2 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 39501 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 39501, month by month
39501 sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 52° | 44° |
| April | 78° | 69° | 60° |
| July | 91° | 83° | 76° |
| October | 82° | 72° | 63° |
Flying in and out of 39501
The nearest airport, Gulfport-Biloxi International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around 39501
Schools across 39501 average a C, better than 35% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bayou View Elementary SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Anniston Avenue Elementary SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Wj Quarles Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Long Beach Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Bayou View Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Gulfport Central Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Long Beach Senior High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Gulfport High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 39501 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
39501 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 39501 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 39501 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 39501
Is 39501 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 39501 ranks 31,880th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, cell coverage, and walkability, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 39501 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $148,167. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $37,604 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 39501 safe?
39501 is safer than 13% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $327 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 39501?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 63 with lows near 44. That works out to about 108 pleasant days a year, more than 68% of zip codes.
Is 39501 good for families?
Schools beat 35% of zip codes, crime safety beats 13%, and childcare runs $662 a month.
Compare 39501 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 39501. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 39501 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.
39501 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 39501: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 39501: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 39501: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 39501: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
39501 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.