Best PlacesLocum, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Locum, 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.
Locum ranks 34,878th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Locum
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.
Locum's strengths and weaknesses
Where Locum ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 96% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of towns
- Cheap childcare$532 a month, better than 89% of towns
- QuietBetter than 85% of towns
Where Locum ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of towns
- Household income$49,687 median, better than only 12% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Locum
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Locum home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $49,687, 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 Locum's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 Locum
Locum runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Locum.
Who works in Locum, and how
Work in Locum centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 97%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Locum
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Locum.
What the weather is like in Locum, month by month
Locum sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 44° | 33° |
| April | 77° | 63° | 50° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 81° | 66° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Locum
The nearest airport, Tupelo Regional, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 71 miles away.
The best schools in and around Locum
Schools across Locum average a B, better than 69% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- New Albany Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Ripley Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- New Albany Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Ripley Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- New Albany High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Ripley High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Locum school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Locum 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 Locum against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Locum
Is Locum a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Locum ranks 34,878th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, tree cover, and a stable housing market, and lowest on state infrastructure and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Locum expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $150,280. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $49,687 median income, cost of living beats 12% of towns.
Is Locum safe?
Yes, Locum is safer than 72% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $135 per resident a year.
Compare Locum with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Locum. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Locum 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.
Locum detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Locum: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Locum: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Locum: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Locum: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Locum 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.