Best Places39561, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 39561, 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.
39561 ranks 14,692nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 39561
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.
39561's strengths and weaknesses
Where 39561 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 39561 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute42.1 minutes each way, better than only 3% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 39561
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 39561 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $90,310, 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 39561's effective rate of 0.41%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 39561
39561 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 39561.
Who works in 39561, and how
Work in 39561 centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 39561
The coast is about 32 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 39561, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 39561, month by month
39561 sees roughly 106 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 39561
The nearest airport, Gulfport-Biloxi International, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around 39561
Schools across 39561 average a B+, better than 79% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Perkinston Elementary SchoolA · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Stone Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Stone High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 39561 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
39561 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 39561 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 39561
Is 39561 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 39561 ranks 14,692nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, a strong job market, and a stable housing market, and lowest on disaster risk and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 39561 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $196,715. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $90,310 median income, cost of living beats 76% of zip codes.
Is 39561 safe?
Yes, 39561 is safer than 99% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $79 per resident a year.
Compare 39561 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 39561. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 39561 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.
39561 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 39561: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 39561: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 39561: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 39561: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
39561 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.