Best PlacesPearl River County, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Pearl River County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Pearl River County ranks 2,469th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Pearl River 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.
The best areas in Pearl River County
The parts of Pearl River County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Carriere
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and fewer homes sit empty.
Picayune
More households have young kids and commutes are shorter.
Poplarville
Advertised internet is slower and it is noisier.
Scores across Pearl River County run from about the 3rd to the 72nd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Pearl River County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Pearl River County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 90% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 87% of counties
- Cheap childcare$522 a month, better than 87% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 79% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 73% of counties
Where Pearl River County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Short commute35.4 minutes each way, better than only 3% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 5% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 11% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Pearl River County
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pearl River County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,359, 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 Pearl River 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 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 Pearl River County
Pearl River 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 Pearl River County.
Who works in Pearl River County, and how
Work in Pearl River County centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Pearl River County
Pearl River County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. The coast is about 54 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Pearl River County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Pearl River County growing, and who is moving in?
Pearl River County has grown about 7% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Slidell, LA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Pearl River County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Pearl River County, month by month
Pearl River County sees roughly 103 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 Pearl River County
The nearest airport, Gulfport-Biloxi International, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 58 miles away.
The best schools in and around Pearl River County
Schools across Pearl River County average a B−, better than 68% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Pearl River Central ElementarB+ · 51% proficient
- South Side Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Baxterville SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Middle School Of PoplarvilleB+ · 49% proficient
- Pearl River Central Junior HighB+ · 47% proficient
- Picayune Junior High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Poplarville Jr Sr High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Pearl River Central High SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Picayune Memorial High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pearl River County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pearl River 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 Pearl River County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Pearl River County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Pearl River County
Is Pearl River County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pearl River County ranks 2,469th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, low crime, and affordable childcare, and lowest on disaster risk and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Pearl River County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,390. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $60,359 median income, cost of living beats 38% of counties.
Is Pearl River County safe?
Yes, Pearl River County is safer than 87% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $140 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Pearl River County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 65 with lows near 42. That works out to about 103 pleasant days a year, more than 62% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Pearl River County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Carriere, Picayune, and Poplarville. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Pearl River County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pearl River County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pearl River 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.
Pearl River County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pearl River County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pearl River County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pearl River County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pearl River County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pearl River 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.