Best PlacesLowndes County, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Lowndes County, 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.
Lowndes County ranks 2,065th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. State infrastructure pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on affordable childcare.
The best neighborhoods in Lowndes 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.
Lowndes County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lowndes County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$513 a month, better than 88% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 75% of counties
- Short commute21.3 minutes each way, better than 70% of counties
Where Lowndes County ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 5% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 18% of counties
- School gradeC−, better than only 21% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Lowndes County
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lowndes County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,627, 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 Lowndes County's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 Lowndes County
Lowndes 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 Lowndes County.
Who works in Lowndes County, and how
Work in Lowndes County 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 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Lowndes County
Lowndes County has less parkland per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Lowndes County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Lowndes County growing, and who is moving in?
Lowndes County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Jackson, MS.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Lowndes County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Lowndes County, month by month
Lowndes County sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 44° | 35° |
| April | 76° | 63° | 52° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 79° | 65° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Lowndes County
The nearest airport, Golden Triangle Regional, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 139 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lowndes County
Schools across Lowndes County average a C−, better than 21% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Caledonia Elementary SchoolA · 62% proficient
- New Hope Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- West Lowndes ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Caledonia Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- New Hope Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Socsd/msu Partnership Middle SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Caledonia High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- New Hope High SchoolC · 31% proficient
- West Point High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lowndes County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lowndes 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 Lowndes County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Lowndes County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 6% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Lowndes County
Is Lowndes County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lowndes County ranks 2,065th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, fast internet, and low property taxes, 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 Lowndes County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $178,300. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $60,627 median income, cost of living beats 35% of counties.
Is Lowndes County safe?
Lowndes County is safer than 38% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $237 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lowndes County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 35. That works out to about 82 pleasant days a year, more than 41% of counties.
Is Lowndes County good for families?
Schools beat 21% of counties, crime safety beats 38%, and childcare runs $513 a month.
Compare Lowndes County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lowndes County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lowndes 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.
Lowndes County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lowndes County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lowndes County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lowndes County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lowndes County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lowndes 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.