Best PlacesJackson County, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Jackson County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Jackson County ranks 1,523rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 11 minutes away. Its strengths are fast internet and good schools. The cost shows up in disaster risk, state infrastructure, and summer heat.
The best neighborhoods in Jackson County
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.
The best areas in Jackson County
The parts of Jackson County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Gulf Park Estates
Fewer homes sit empty, more adults hold degrees, and it is quieter.
Ocean Springs & Gulf Hills
Local pay stretches further, though tree cover is thinner.
Biloxi
Crime runs lower, though fewer households have young kids.
Moss Point
Prices have run up less and incomes run higher.
Vancleave
Commutes are longer and heat risk is higher.
Gautier
Homes cost less, though schools score lower.
Pascagoula
Fewer residents vote and health care is harder to reach.
Scores across Jackson County run from about the 1st to the 85th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Jackson County's strengths and weaknesses
Jackson County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Fast internet, good schools, and low crime carry most of that.
The one real hole is disaster risk, near the bottom of the country. State infrastructure and summer heat also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Jackson County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 93% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 82% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 81% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 77% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 72% of counties
Where Jackson County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 5% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 10% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Jackson County
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jackson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,060, 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 Jackson County's effective rate of 0.65%, 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 Jackson County
Jackson County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Jackson County.
Who works in Jackson County, and how
Work in Jackson County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Jackson County
Jackson County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. The coast is about 11 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Jackson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Jackson County growing, and who is moving in?
Jackson County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Jackson, MS.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Jackson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Jackson County, month by month
Jackson County sees roughly 102 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 64, 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 | 64° | 52° | 42° |
| April | 79° | 67° | 57° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 75° |
| October | 84° | 70° | 60° |
Flying in and out of Jackson County
The nearest airport, Gulfport-Biloxi International, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 100 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jackson County
Schools across Jackson County average a B+, better than 82% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Oak Park Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- St Martin East Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Vancleave Upper ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ocean Springs Middle SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Ocean Springs Upper Elementary SchoA · 65% proficient
- East Central Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Ocean Springs High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- East Central High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- St Martin High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jackson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jackson County 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 Jackson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Jackson County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Jackson County
Is Jackson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jackson County ranks 1,523rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, good schools, and low crime, 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 Jackson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $204,284. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $73,060 median income, cost of living beats 77% of counties.
Is Jackson County safe?
Yes, Jackson County is safer than 81% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $165 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jackson County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 42. That works out to about 102 pleasant days a year, more than 62% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Jackson County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Gulf Park Estates, Ocean Springs & Gulf Hills, and Biloxi. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Jackson County good for families?
Schools beat 82% of counties, crime safety beats 81%, and childcare runs $664 a month.
Is Jackson County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 93% of counties. About 8% of workers already work from home.
Compare Jackson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jackson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jackson County 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.
Jackson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jackson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jackson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jackson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jackson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jackson County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.