Best PlacesWest Poplarville, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Poplarville, 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.
West Poplarville ranks 43,293rd of 50,333 U.S. towns 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 West Poplarville
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.
West Poplarville's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Poplarville ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 92% of towns
- Cheap childcare$522 a month, better than 90% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 76% of towns
- School gradeB−, better than 63% of towns
Where West Poplarville ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 6% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 7% of towns
- Household income$48,041 median, better than only 10% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Poplarville
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Poplarville home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $48,041, 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 West Poplarville's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Poplarville
West Poplarville runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Poplarville.
Who works in West Poplarville, and how
Work in West Poplarville centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in West Poplarville
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Poplarville.
What the weather is like in West Poplarville, month by month
West Poplarville sees roughly 92 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 West Poplarville
The nearest airport, Hattiesburg/Laurel Regional, is about 44 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, about 73 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Poplarville
Schools across West Poplarville average a B−, better than 63% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Poplarville Upper Elementary SchC · 34% proficient
Top middle schools
- Middle School Of PoplarvilleB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Poplarville Jr Sr High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Poplarville school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Poplarville 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 West Poplarville against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Poplarville
Is West Poplarville a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Poplarville ranks 43,293rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, affordable childcare, and tree cover, and lowest on disaster risk and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Poplarville expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $173,318. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $48,041 median income, cost of living beats 12% of towns.
Is West Poplarville safe?
Yes, West Poplarville is safer than 60% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $153 per resident a year.
Compare West Poplarville with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Poplarville. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Poplarville 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.
West Poplarville detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Poplarville: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Poplarville: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Poplarville: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Poplarville: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Poplarville 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.