Best PlacesColumbus, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Columbus, 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.
Columbus ranks 1,899th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Columbus
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' strengths and weaknesses
Where Columbus ranks high
- Cheap childcare$513 a month, better than 98% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 86% of cities
- QuietBetter than 85% of cities
- Short commute20.8 minutes each way, better than 83% of cities
Where Columbus ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 2% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of cities
- Household income$56,936 median, better than only 5% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 9% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Columbus
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Columbus home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,936, 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' effective rate of 0.49%, 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 Columbus
Columbus's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Columbus.
Who works in Columbus, and how
Work in Columbus centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, 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 Columbus
Columbus has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of cities and more parkland per resident than 80% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Columbus and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Columbus, month by month
Columbus sees roughly 84 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
The nearest airport, Golden Triangle Regional, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 140 miles away.
The best schools in and around Columbus
Schools across Columbus average a D+, better than 11% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Caledonia Elementary SchoolA · 62% proficient
- New Hope Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- West Lowndes ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Caledonia Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- New Hope Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Socsd/msu Partnership Middle SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Caledonia High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- New Hope High SchoolC · 31% proficient
- West Point High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Columbus school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Columbus 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 against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Columbus suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 6% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Columbus
Is Columbus a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Columbus ranks 1,899th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on affordable childcare, low property taxes, and a stable housing market, and lowest on state infrastructure and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Columbus expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $177,518. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $56,936 median income, cost of living beats 14% of cities.
Is Columbus safe?
Columbus is safer than 20% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $265 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Columbus?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 35. That works out to about 84 pleasant days a year, more than 48% of cities.
Is Columbus good for families?
Schools beat 11% of cities, crime safety beats 20%, and childcare runs $513 a month.
Compare Columbus with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Columbus. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Columbus 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 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Columbus: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Columbus: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Columbus: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Columbus: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Columbus 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.