Best PlacesIuka, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Iuka, 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.
Iuka ranks 35,372nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Iuka
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.
Iuka's strengths and weaknesses
Where Iuka ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 90% of towns
- Cheap childcare$537 a month, better than 88% of towns
- Short commute21.4 minutes each way, better than 82% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 76% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 72% of towns
Where Iuka ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 13% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 20% of towns
- Household income$56,298 median, better than only 21% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 23% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Iuka
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Iuka home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,298, 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 Iuka's effective rate of 0.38%, 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 Iuka
Iuka 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 Iuka.
Who works in Iuka, and how
Work in Iuka centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Iuka
Iuka has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Iuka and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Iuka, month by month
Iuka sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 42° | 34° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 51° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 76° | 62° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Iuka
The nearest airport, Northwest Alabama Regional, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 101 miles away.
The best schools in and around Iuka
Schools across Iuka average a C+, better than 50% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Tishomingo ElementaryC · 35% proficient
- Iuka Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Burnsville ElementaryC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Iuka Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Tishomingo County High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Iuka school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Iuka 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 Iuka against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Iuka
Is Iuka a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Iuka ranks 35,372nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low property taxes, affordable childcare, and short commutes, and lowest on state infrastructure and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Iuka expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $152,369. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $56,298 median income, cost of living beats 26% of towns.
Is Iuka safe?
Yes, Iuka is safer than 56% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $166 per resident a year.
Compare Iuka with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Iuka. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Iuka 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.
Iuka detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Iuka: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Iuka: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Iuka: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Iuka: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Iuka 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.