Best PlacesMarion County, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Marion 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.
Marion County ranks 2,868th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Marion 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.
Marion County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Marion County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of counties
- Cheap childcare$530 a month, better than 86% of counties
- QuietBetter than 82% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 73% of counties
Where Marion County ranks low
- Short commute34.3 minutes each way, better than only 5% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 5% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Household income$48,367 median, better than only 6% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Marion County
A household needs to earn about $30,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Marion County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $48,367, 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 Marion County's effective rate of 0.56%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Marion County
Marion 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 Marion County.
Who works in Marion County, and how
Work in Marion County centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Marion County
Marion County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Marion County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Marion County growing, and who is moving in?
Marion County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Hattiesburg, MS.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Marion County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Marion County, month by month
Marion County sees roughly 94 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 65, 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 | 65° | 52° | 42° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 57° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 84° | 69° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Marion County
The nearest airport, Hattiesburg/Laurel Regional, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 90 miles away.
The best schools in and around Marion County
Schools across Marion County average a C+, better than 46% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- West Marion Primary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Columbia Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- East Marion Elementary SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Marion ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Jefferson Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- West Marion High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Columbia High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- East Marion High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Marion County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Marion 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 Marion County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Marion County suits
Common questions about living in Marion County
Is Marion County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Marion County ranks 2,868th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, tree cover, and affordable childcare, and lowest on long commutes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Marion County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $119,147. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $48,367 median income, cost of living beats 10% of counties.
Is Marion County safe?
Marion County is safer than 52% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $194 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Marion County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 65 with lows near 42. That works out to about 94 pleasant days a year, more than 56% of counties.
Is Marion County good for families?
Schools beat 46% of counties, crime safety beats 52%, and childcare runs $530 a month.
Compare Marion County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Marion County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Marion 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.
Marion County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Marion County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Marion County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Marion County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Marion County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Marion 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.