Best PlacesChicora, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Chicora, 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.
Chicora ranks 42,995th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Chicora
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.
Chicora's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chicora ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Cheap childcare$538 a month, better than 88% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 84% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of towns
- QuietBetter than 80% of towns
Where Chicora ranks low
- Household income$40,355 median, better than only 3% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 7% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 9% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Chicora
A household needs to earn about $29,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chicora home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $40,355, 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 Chicora's effective rate of 0.47%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Chicora
Chicora runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Chicora.
Who works in Chicora, and how
Work in Chicora centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Chicora
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Chicora.
What the weather is like in Chicora, month by month
Chicora sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 48° | 38° |
| April | 78° | 65° | 54° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 73° |
| October | 81° | 67° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Chicora
The nearest airport, Hattiesburg/Laurel Regional, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 146 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chicora
Schools across Chicora average a C+, better than 40% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Clara Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Buckatunna Elementary SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Wayne County High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chicora school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chicora 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 Chicora against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Chicora
Is Chicora a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chicora ranks 42,995th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, affordable childcare, and a strong job market, and lowest on low incomes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chicora expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $117,032. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $40,355 median income, cost of living beats 7% of towns.
Is Chicora safe?
Yes, Chicora is safer than 69% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $140 per resident a year.
Compare Chicora with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chicora. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chicora 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.
Chicora detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chicora: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chicora: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chicora: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chicora: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chicora 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.