Best PlacesCalhoun County, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Calhoun County, 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.
Calhoun County ranks 2,716th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Calhoun County
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.
Calhoun County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Calhoun County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 93% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 85% of counties
- Cheap childcare$537 a month, better than 85% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 71% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 66% of counties
Where Calhoun County ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of counties
- Household income$46,109 median, better than only 4% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 5% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 7% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 9% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Calhoun County
A household needs to earn about $24,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Calhoun County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $46,109, 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 Calhoun County's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 Calhoun County
Calhoun County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Calhoun County.
Who works in Calhoun County, and how
Work in Calhoun County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Calhoun County
Calhoun County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Calhoun County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Calhoun County growing, and who is moving in?
Calhoun County has lost about 13% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Pensacola, FL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Calhoun County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Calhoun County, month by month
Calhoun County sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 41° | 33° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 51° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 76° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Calhoun County
The nearest airport, Tupelo Regional, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around Calhoun County
Schools across Calhoun County average a C, better than 30% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Vardaman Elementary SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Calhoun City Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
- Bruce Elementary SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Top middle schools
- Grenada Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Lafayette Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- South Pontotoc Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Bruce High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Water Valley High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Vardaman High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Calhoun County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Calhoun County 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 Calhoun County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Calhoun County
Is Calhoun County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Calhoun County ranks 2,716th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, a stable housing market, and affordable childcare, and lowest on education levels and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Calhoun County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $92,959. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $46,109 median income, cost of living beats 7% of counties.
Is Calhoun County safe?
Yes, Calhoun County is safer than 62% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $173 per resident a year.
Compare Calhoun County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Calhoun County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Calhoun County 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.
Calhoun County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Calhoun County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Calhoun County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Calhoun County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Calhoun County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Calhoun County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.