Best PlacesPrentiss County, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Prentiss 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.
Prentiss County ranks 1,817th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Prentiss 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.
Prentiss County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Prentiss County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Cheap childcare$533 a month, better than 85% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 85% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of counties
Where Prentiss County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 5% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of counties
- Household income$54,534 median, better than only 15% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Prentiss County
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Prentiss County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,534, 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 Prentiss County's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 Prentiss County
Prentiss 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 Prentiss County.
Who works in Prentiss County, and how
Work in Prentiss County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 96%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Prentiss County
Prentiss County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Prentiss County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Prentiss County growing, and who is moving in?
Prentiss County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Lee County, MS.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Prentiss County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Prentiss County, month by month
Prentiss County sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 42° | 34° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 51° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 76° | 62° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Prentiss County
The nearest airport, Tupelo Regional, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around Prentiss County
Schools across Prentiss County average a B+, better than 85% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Marietta Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Anderson Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Hills Chapel SchoolB · 49% proficient
Top middle schools
- R.h. Long Booneville Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Guntown Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- New Site High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Booneville High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Baldwyn High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Prentiss County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Prentiss 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 Prentiss County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Prentiss County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 3% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Prentiss County
Is Prentiss County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Prentiss County ranks 1,817th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, a stable housing market, and affordable childcare, and lowest on air quality and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Prentiss County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $129,475. The overall cost of living runs about 28% below the national average. Set against a $54,534 median income, cost of living beats 38% of counties.
Is Prentiss County safe?
Prentiss County is safer than 48% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $196 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Prentiss County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 52 with lows near 34. That works out to about 78 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of counties.
Is Prentiss County good for families?
Schools beat 85% of counties, crime safety beats 48%, and childcare runs $533 a month.
Compare Prentiss County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Prentiss County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Prentiss 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.
Prentiss County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Prentiss County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Prentiss County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Prentiss County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Prentiss County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Prentiss 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.