Best PlacesPontotoc County, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Pontotoc 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.
Pontotoc County ranks 2,259th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Pontotoc 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.
Pontotoc County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Pontotoc County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of counties
- Cheap childcare$527 a month, better than 86% of counties
- QuietBetter than 85% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 81% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 78% of counties
Where Pontotoc County ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 5% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 7% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 8% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 9% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Pontotoc County
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pontotoc County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,962, 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 Pontotoc County's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 Pontotoc County
Pontotoc County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Pontotoc County.
Who works in Pontotoc County, and how
Work in Pontotoc County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 96%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 0%
Life in Pontotoc County
Pontotoc County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Pontotoc County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Pontotoc County growing, and who is moving in?
Pontotoc County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Lee County, MS.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Pontotoc County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Pontotoc County, month by month
Pontotoc County sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 44° | 33° |
| April | 77° | 63° | 50° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 81° | 66° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Pontotoc County
The nearest airport, Tupelo Regional, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 77 miles away.
The best schools in and around Pontotoc County
Schools across Pontotoc County average a B, better than 71% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- South Pontotoc Elementary SchoolA− · 61% proficient
- D T Cox Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- North Pontotoc Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Pontotoc Upper ElementaryA− · 54% proficient
- Pontotoc Junior High SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- South Pontotoc Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- South Pontotoc High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Pontotoc High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- North Pontotoc High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pontotoc County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pontotoc 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 Pontotoc County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Pontotoc County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 3% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Pontotoc County
Is Pontotoc County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pontotoc County ranks 2,259th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, affordable childcare, and quiet, and lowest on state infrastructure and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Pontotoc County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $159,736. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $52,962 median income, cost of living beats 13% of counties.
Is Pontotoc County safe?
Yes, Pontotoc County is safer than 63% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $178 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Pontotoc County?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 33. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 17% of counties.
Is Pontotoc County good for families?
Schools beat 71% of counties, crime safety beats 63%, and childcare runs $527 a month.
Compare Pontotoc County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pontotoc County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pontotoc 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.
Pontotoc County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pontotoc County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pontotoc County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pontotoc County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pontotoc County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pontotoc 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.