Best PlacesSharkey County, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Sharkey 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.
Sharkey County ranks 3,118th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Health outcomes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on affordable childcare.
The best neighborhoods in Sharkey 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.
Sharkey County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sharkey County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$534 a month, better than 85% of counties
- Short commute18.9 minutes each way, better than 85% of counties
- QuietBetter than 78% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 76% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 70% of counties
Where Sharkey County ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of counties
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of counties
- Household income$38,869 median, better than only 1% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 2% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Sharkey County
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sharkey County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $38,869, 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 Sharkey County's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 Sharkey County
Sharkey 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 Sharkey County.
Who works in Sharkey County, and how
Work in Sharkey County centers on retail trade and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Sharkey County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Sharkey County.
Is Sharkey County growing, and who is moving in?
Sharkey County has lost about 30% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Warren County, MS.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Sharkey County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Sharkey County, month by month
Sharkey County sees roughly 86 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 48° | 39° |
| April | 78° | 67° | 57° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 82° | 68° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Sharkey County
The nearest airport, Greenville Mid-Delta, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 155 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sharkey County
Schools across Sharkey County average an F, better than 1% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Redwood Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Bentonia Gibbs SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- South Delta Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Delta Middle SchoolF · 9% proficient
- Griffin Middle School AcademyF · 5% proficient
Top high schools
- General Trass High SchoolD− · 12% proficient
- South Delta High SchoolF · 9% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sharkey County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sharkey 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 Sharkey County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Sharkey County
Is Sharkey County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sharkey County ranks 3,118th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, short commutes, and quiet, and lowest on health outcomes and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sharkey County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $98,400. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $38,869 median income, cost of living beats 2% of counties.
Is Sharkey County safe?
Sharkey County is safer than 2% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $448 per resident a year.
Compare Sharkey County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sharkey County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sharkey 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.
Sharkey County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sharkey County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sharkey County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sharkey County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sharkey County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sharkey 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.