Best PlacesWinston County, MS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Winston 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.
Winston County ranks 2,185th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Winston 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.
Winston County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Winston County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 96% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 91% of counties
- Cheap childcare$526 a month, better than 86% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of counties
- QuietBetter than 74% of counties
Where Winston County ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 5% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 11% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 11% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 12% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Winston County
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Winston County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,968, 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 Winston County'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 Winston County
Winston County 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 Winston County.
Who works in Winston County, and how
Work in Winston County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Winston County
Winston County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Winston County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Winston County growing, and who is moving in?
Winston County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Hattiesburg, MS.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Winston County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Winston County, month by month
Winston County sees roughly 115 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 43° | 35° |
| April | 75° | 62° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 76° | 69° |
| October | 77° | 64° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Winston County
The nearest airport, Golden Triangle Regional, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 145 miles away.
The best schools in and around Winston County
Schools across Winston County average a C−, better than 26% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Louisville Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Eiland Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Louisville High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Winston County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Winston 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 Winston County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Winston County
Is Winston County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Winston County ranks 2,185th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, a stable housing market, and affordable childcare, and lowest on state infrastructure and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Winston County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $137,518. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $56,968 median income, cost of living beats 38% of counties.
Is Winston County safe?
Yes, Winston County is safer than 56% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $185 per resident a year.
Compare Winston County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Winston County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Winston 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.
Winston County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Winston County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Winston County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Winston County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Winston County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Winston 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.