Best PlacesOlive Branch, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Olive Branch, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Olive Branch ranks 675th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Olive Branch
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.
Olive Branch's strengths and weaknesses
Where Olive Branch ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 96% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 93% of cities
- Cheap childcare$651 a month, better than 93% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of cities
Where Olive Branch ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 2% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 4% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 4% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 17% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Olive Branch
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Olive Branch home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $106,408, 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 Olive Branch's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 Olive Branch
Olive Branch'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 Olive Branch.
Who works in Olive Branch, and how
Work in Olive Branch centers on transportation & warehousing and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Olive Branch
Olive Branch has more restaurants and bars per resident than 93% of cities and more parkland per resident than 83% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Olive Branch and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Olive Branch, month by month
Olive Branch sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 40° | 33° |
| April | 72° | 61° | 52° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 75° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Olive Branch
Memphis International sits about 10 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 2.4 million passengers in 2025, with 78 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Olive Branch
Schools across Olive Branch average a B+, better than 70% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Lewisburg Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Pleasant Hill ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Sycamore Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lewisburg MiddleA+ · 74% proficient
- Desoto Central Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Center Hill MiddleA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Lewisburg High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Center Hill High SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Desoto Central High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Olive Branch school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Olive Branch 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 Olive Branch against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Olive Branch suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Olive Branch
Is Olive Branch a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Olive Branch ranks 675th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on a stable housing market, fast internet, and a strong job market, and lowest on state infrastructure and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Olive Branch expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $308,246. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $106,408 median income, cost of living beats 82% of cities.
Is Olive Branch safe?
Yes, Olive Branch is safer than 83% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $128 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Olive Branch?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 33. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 31% of cities.
Is Olive Branch good for families?
Schools beat 70% of cities, crime safety beats 83%, and childcare runs $651 a month.
Compare Olive Branch with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Olive Branch. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Olive Branch 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.
Olive Branch detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Olive Branch: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Olive Branch: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Olive Branch: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Olive Branch: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Olive Branch 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.