Best PlacesMississippi State, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Mississippi State, 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.
Mississippi State ranks 17,824th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Mississippi State
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.
Mississippi State's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mississippi State ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of towns
- BikingBetter than 97% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of towns
- Short commute16.5 minutes each way, better than 96% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of towns
Where Mississippi State ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 9% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 13% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Mississippi State
A household needs to earn about $89,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mississippi State home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $57,926, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Mississippi State's effective rate of 0.64%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Mississippi State
Mississippi State runs younger than the country, 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 Mississippi State.
Who works in Mississippi State, and how
Work in Mississippi State centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 22%
Life in Mississippi State
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Mississippi State.
What the weather is like in Mississippi State, month by month
Mississippi State sees roughly 118 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 43° | 35° |
| April | 75° | 62° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 76° | 69° |
| October | 77° | 64° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Mississippi State
The nearest airport, Golden Triangle Regional, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 129 miles away.
The best schools in and around Mississippi State
Schools across Mississippi State average a C−, better than 24% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Henderson/ward-stewart ElementaryC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Overstreet ElementaryB · 46% proficient
- Socsd/msu Partnership Middle SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Starkville High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mississippi State school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mississippi State 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 Mississippi State against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Mississippi State
Is Mississippi State a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mississippi State ranks 17,824th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on population health, biking, and an educated workforce, and lowest on civic engagement and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Mississippi State expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $348,894. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $57,926 median income, cost of living beats 24% of towns.
Is Mississippi State safe?
Yes, Mississippi State is safer than 83% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $119 per resident a year.
Compare Mississippi State with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mississippi State. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mississippi State 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.
Mississippi State detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mississippi State: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mississippi State: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mississippi State: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mississippi State: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mississippi State 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.