Best PlacesJohnson, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Johnson, 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.
Johnson ranks 34,682nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Johnson
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.
Johnson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Johnson ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of towns
- Cheap childcare$527 a month, better than 90% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 85% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 85% of towns
Where Johnson ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 13% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Johnson
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Johnson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,108, 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 Johnson's effective rate of 1.11%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Johnson
Johnson's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Johnson.
Who works in Johnson, and how
Work in Johnson centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Johnson
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Johnson.
What the weather is like in Johnson, month by month
Johnson sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 48° | 38° |
| April | 78° | 65° | 54° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 73° |
| October | 81° | 67° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Johnson
The nearest airport, Hattiesburg/Laurel Regional, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 125 miles away.
The best schools in and around Johnson
Schools across Johnson average a B−, better than 59% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- South Jones Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- South Jones High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Johnson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Johnson 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 Johnson against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Johnson
Is Johnson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Johnson ranks 34,682nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, affordable childcare, and tree cover, and lowest on state infrastructure and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Johnson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $128,779. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $55,108 median income, cost of living beats 25% of towns.
Is Johnson safe?
Yes, Johnson is safer than 85% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $114 per resident a year.
Compare Johnson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Johnson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Johnson 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.
Johnson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Johnson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Johnson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Johnson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Johnson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Johnson 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.