Best PlacesDiamondhead, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Diamondhead, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Diamondhead ranks 13,816th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Diamondhead
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.
Diamondhead's strengths and weaknesses
Where Diamondhead ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 87% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 86% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 80% of towns
Where Diamondhead ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
- Short commute36.3 minutes each way, better than only 11% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Diamondhead
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Diamondhead home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,424, 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 Diamondhead's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Diamondhead
Diamondhead runs older than the country, 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 Diamondhead.
Who works in Diamondhead, and how
Work in Diamondhead centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Diamondhead
Diamondhead has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of towns. The coast is about 16 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Diamondhead and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Diamondhead, month by month
Diamondhead sees roughly 111 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 54° | 43° |
| April | 77° | 71° | 58° |
| July | 90° | 84° | 75° |
| October | 81° | 73° | 60° |
Flying in and out of Diamondhead
The nearest airport, Gulfport-Biloxi International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 60 miles away.
The best schools in and around Diamondhead
Schools across Diamondhead average a B+, better than 80% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- East Hancock Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Delisle Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- South Hancock Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hancock Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- Pass Christian MiddleA− · 54% proficient
Top high schools
- Pass Christian High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Hancock High SchoolB · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Diamondhead school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Diamondhead 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 Diamondhead against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Diamondhead
Is Diamondhead a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Diamondhead ranks 13,816th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on fast internet, low crime, and an educated workforce, and lowest on disaster risk and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Diamondhead expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $253,386. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $82,424 median income, cost of living beats 80% of towns.
Is Diamondhead safe?
Yes, Diamondhead is safer than 95% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $92 per resident a year.
Compare Diamondhead with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Diamondhead. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Diamondhead 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.
Diamondhead detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Diamondhead: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Diamondhead: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Diamondhead: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Diamondhead: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Diamondhead 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.