Best PlacesHillsdale, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hillsdale, 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.
Hillsdale ranks 39,838th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Hillsdale
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.
Hillsdale's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hillsdale ranks high
- Cheap childcare$522 a month, better than 90% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 76% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 76% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 72% of towns
Where Hillsdale ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Short commute41.9 minutes each way, better than only 4% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 10% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Hillsdale
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hillsdale home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,472, 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 Hillsdale's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 Hillsdale
Hillsdale'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 Hillsdale.
Who works in Hillsdale, and how
Work in Hillsdale centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Hillsdale
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Hillsdale.
What the weather is like in Hillsdale, month by month
Hillsdale sees roughly 91 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 Hillsdale
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 71 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hillsdale
Schools across Hillsdale 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 Hillsdale school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hillsdale 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 Hillsdale against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Hillsdale
Is Hillsdale a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hillsdale ranks 39,838th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on affordable childcare, tree cover, and few empty homes, and lowest on disaster risk and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hillsdale expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $212,654. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $58,472 median income, cost of living beats 29% of towns.
Is Hillsdale safe?
Yes, Hillsdale is safer than 68% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $150 per resident a year.
Compare Hillsdale with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hillsdale. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hillsdale 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.
Hillsdale detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hillsdale: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hillsdale: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hillsdale: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hillsdale: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hillsdale 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.