Best PlacesWater Valley, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Water Valley, 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.
Water Valley ranks 30,349th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Water Valley
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.
Water Valley's strengths and weaknesses
Where Water Valley ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of towns
- Cheap childcare$535 a month, better than 88% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 77% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 77% of towns
Where Water Valley ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 13% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 14% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 17% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Water Valley
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Water Valley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,422, 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 Water Valley's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 Water Valley
Water Valley'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 Water Valley.
Who works in Water Valley, and how
Work in Water Valley centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Water Valley
Water Valley has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of towns and more parkland per resident than 93% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Water Valley and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Water Valley, month by month
Water Valley sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, 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 | 52° | 41° | 33° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 51° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 76° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Water Valley
The nearest airport, Tupelo Regional, is about 50 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 65 miles away.
The best schools in and around Water Valley
Schools across Water Valley average a C+, better than 41% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Lafayette Upper Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Batesville Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Davidson Elementary SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lafayette Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Lafayette High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Bruce High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Water Valley High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Water Valley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Water Valley 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 Water Valley against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Water Valley
Is Water Valley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Water Valley ranks 30,349th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on fast internet, affordable childcare, and walkability, and lowest on state infrastructure and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Water Valley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $141,784. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $56,422 median income, cost of living beats 34% of towns.
Is Water Valley safe?
Water Valley is safer than 40% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $196 per resident a year.
Compare Water Valley with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Water Valley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Water Valley 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.
Water Valley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Water Valley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Water Valley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Water Valley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Water Valley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Water Valley 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.