Best PlacesMississippi Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Mississippi, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Mississippi ranks 49th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on low incomes and education levels. It does better on affordable childcare, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Mississippi
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.
The best areas in Mississippi
The counties of Mississippi, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
DeSoto County, Lafayette County & Marshall County
Heat risk is lower, local pay stretches further, and disaster risk is lower.
Lee County, Lowndes County & Alcorn County
Scores close to DeSoto County, Lafayette County & Marshall County, except that big-city amenities are further off here.
Jackson County & Harrison County
Fewer homes sit empty and schools score higher.
Forrest County, Lamar County & Pearl River County
Crime runs lower.
Scott County, Leake County & Attala County
Tree cover is thicker and it is quieter.
Hinds County, Rankin County & Madison County
More adults hold degrees.
Lauderdale County & Oktibbeha County
The air is cleaner.
Bolivar County, Leflore County & Coahoma County
Incomes run lower and prices have run up more.
Pike County, Lincoln County & Adams County
Homes cost less, though advertised internet is slower.
Mississippi shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 4%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Mississippi's strengths and weaknesses
Mississippi ranks near the bottom because several of the basics fall short at once. Affordable childcare is the standout, in the top 3% of states. A stable housing market and quiet follow.
The weak spots are broad rather than narrow: low incomes, education levels, and walkability all drag on the score. Those are area averages, and the map below shows which parts run well above them.
Where Mississippi ranks high
- Cheap childcare$592 a month, better than 97% of states
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 95% of states
- QuietBetter than 91% of states
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of states
- Internet speedBetter than 76% of states
Where Mississippi ranks low
- Household income$62,900 median, better than only 1% of states
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of states
- WalkabilityBetter than only 1% of states
- BikingBetter than only 3% of states
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 5% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Mississippi
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mississippi home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,900, 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 Mississippi'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 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 Mississippi
Mississippi'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 Mississippi.
Who works in Mississippi, and how
Work in Mississippi centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Mississippi
Mississippi has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of states and less parkland per resident than most states. Mississippi has 44 miles of ocean coastline. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Mississippi and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Mississippi, month by month
Mississippi sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 47° | 36° |
| April | 80° | 65° | 52° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 83° | 68° | 55° |
The best schools in and around Mississippi
Schools across Mississippi average a C+, better than 43% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Bayou View Elementary SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Madison Station Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Laurel Magnet School Of The ArtsA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lewisburg MiddleA+ · 74% proficient
- Hernando Middle SchoolA+ · 71% proficient
- Madison Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- Ocean Springs High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Lewisburg High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Hernando High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mississippi school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mississippi 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 against the other 49 states.
Who Mississippi suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Mississippi
Is Mississippi a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mississippi ranks 49th of 50 states. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a stable housing market, and quiet, and lowest on low incomes and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Mississippi expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $182,876. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $62,900 median income, cost of living beats 5% of states.
Is Mississippi safe?
Mississippi is safer than 45% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $219 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Mississippi?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 36. That works out to about 87 pleasant days a year, more than 50% of states.
What are the best areas in Mississippi?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are DeSoto County, Lafayette County & Marshall County, Lee County, Lowndes County & Alcorn County, and Jackson County & Harrison County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Mississippi good for families?
Schools beat 43% of states, crime safety beats 45%, and childcare runs $592 a month.
Is Mississippi good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 5% of states, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 76% of states. About 7% of workers already work from home.
Compare Mississippi with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mississippi. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mississippi 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 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mississippi: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mississippi: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mississippi: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mississippi: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mississippi 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.
- 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.