Best PlacesFords Creek, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fords Creek, 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.
Fords Creek ranks 31,650th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Fords Creek
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.
Fords Creek's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fords Creek ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of towns
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Cheap childcare$523 a month, better than 90% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 79% of towns
Where Fords Creek ranks low
- Short commute56.2 minutes each way, better than only 1% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Fords Creek
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fords Creek home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,633, 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 Fords Creek's effective rate of 0.54%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Fords Creek
Fords Creek's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Fords Creek.
Who works in Fords Creek, and how
Work in Fords Creek centers on construction and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Fords Creek
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Fords Creek.
What the weather is like in Fords Creek, month by month
Fords Creek 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 Fords Creek
The nearest airport, Hattiesburg/Laurel Regional, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 75 miles away.
The best schools in and around Fords Creek
Schools across Fords Creek average a B−, better than 59% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Poplarville Upper Elementary SchC · 34% proficient
- East Marion Elementary SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Middle School Of PoplarvilleB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Poplarville Jr Sr High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- East Marion High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fords Creek school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fords Creek 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 Fords Creek against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Fords Creek
Is Fords Creek a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fords Creek ranks 31,650th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, quiet, and tree cover, and lowest on long commutes and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Fords Creek expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $318,779. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $83,633 median income, cost of living beats 74% of towns.
Is Fords Creek safe?
Yes, Fords Creek is safer than 79% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $124 per resident a year.
Compare Fords Creek with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fords Creek. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fords Creek 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.
Fords Creek detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fords Creek: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fords Creek: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fords Creek: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fords Creek: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fords Creek 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.