Best PlacesDerby, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Derby, 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.
Derby ranks 43,496th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Derby
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.
Derby's strengths and weaknesses
Where Derby ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Cheap childcare$522 a month, better than 90% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 73% of towns
Where Derby ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Short commute40.2 minutes each way, better than only 5% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 9% of towns
Who lives in Derby
Derby runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Derby.
Who works in Derby, and how
Work in Derby centers on health care & social and real estate. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Derby
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Derby.
What the weather is like in Derby, month by month
Derby sees roughly 92 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 52° | 42° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 57° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 84° | 69° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Derby
The nearest airport, Gulfport-Biloxi International, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 69 miles away.
The best schools in and around Derby
Schools across Derby average a B, better than 65% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Poplarville Upper Elementary SchC · 34% proficient
Top middle schools
- Middle School Of PoplarvilleB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Poplarville Jr Sr High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Derby school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Derby 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 Derby against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Derby
Is Derby a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Derby ranks 43,496th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on few empty homes, tree cover, and affordable childcare, and lowest on disaster risk and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Derby safe?
Yes, Derby is safer than 60% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $153 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Derby?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 65 with lows near 42. That works out to about 92 pleasant days a year, more than 62% of towns.
Compare Derby with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Derby. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Derby 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.
Derby detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Derby: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Derby: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Derby: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Derby: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Derby 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.
- 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.