Best Places39556, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 39556, 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.
39556 ranks 23,536th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Disaster risk pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on a strong job market.
The best neighborhoods in 39556
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.
39556's strengths and weaknesses
Where 39556 ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$668 a month, better than 78% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 75% of zip codes
Where 39556 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 39556
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 39556 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,467, 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 39556'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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 39556
39556 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 39556.
Who works in 39556, and how
Work in 39556 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 39556
The coast is about 26 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 39556, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 39556, month by month
39556 sees roughly 110 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 54° | 43° |
| April | 77° | 71° | 58° |
| July | 90° | 84° | 75° |
| October | 81° | 73° | 60° |
Flying in and out of 39556
The nearest airport, Gulfport-Biloxi International, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 60 miles away.
The best schools in and around 39556
Schools across 39556 average a B+, better than 75% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- East Hancock Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Hancock North Central ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- South Hancock Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hancock Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Hancock High SchoolB · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 39556 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
39556 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 39556 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 39556
Is 39556 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 39556 ranks 23,536th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a strong job market, a stable housing market, and affordable childcare, and lowest on disaster risk and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 39556 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $198,421. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $64,467 median income, cost of living beats 35% of zip codes.
Is 39556 safe?
Yes, 39556 is safer than 75% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $140 per resident a year.
Compare 39556 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 39556. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 39556 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.
39556 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 39556: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 39556: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 39556: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 39556: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
39556 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.