Best PlacesColumbus AFB, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Columbus AFB, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Columbus AFB ranks 12,605th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Columbus AFB
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.
Columbus AFB's strengths and weaknesses
Where Columbus AFB ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of towns
- Short commute12.5 minutes each way, better than 99% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of towns
- Cheap childcare$513 a month, better than 91% of towns
Where Columbus AFB ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of towns
- School gradeD, better than only 9% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 13% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 14% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Columbus AFB
A household needs to earn about $14,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Columbus AFB home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,060, 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 Columbus AFB'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 1 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Columbus AFB
Columbus AFB runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Columbus AFB.
Who works in Columbus AFB, and how
Work in Columbus AFB centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Columbus AFB
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Columbus AFB.
What the weather is like in Columbus AFB, month by month
Columbus AFB sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 44° | 35° |
| April | 76° | 63° | 52° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 79° | 65° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Columbus AFB
The nearest airport, Golden Triangle Regional, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 131 miles away.
The best schools in and around Columbus AFB
Schools across Columbus AFB average a D, better than 9% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Caledonia Elementary SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Sale Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
- Cook Elementary SchoolD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- Columbus Middle SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Caledonia High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Columbus High SchoolD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Columbus AFB school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Columbus AFB 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 Columbus AFB against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Columbus AFB
Is Columbus AFB a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Columbus AFB ranks 12,605th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on population health, short commutes, and low crime, and lowest on civic engagement and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Columbus AFB expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $54,600. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $64,060 median income, cost of living beats 49% of towns.
Is Columbus AFB safe?
Yes, Columbus AFB is safer than 97% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $83 per resident a year.
Compare Columbus AFB with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Columbus AFB. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Columbus AFB 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.
Columbus AFB detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Columbus AFB: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Columbus AFB: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Columbus AFB: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Columbus AFB: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Columbus AFB 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.