Douglas vs Brookhaven

Which is the better fit for you?

Douglas, GA
58
Area Score
Bottom 47% nationally
Brookhaven, MS
57
Area Score
Bottom 43% nationally

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Douglas receives the higher standardized Area Score. That reflects AreaProfile's weighting, not a judgment about which place is better to live in.

If you are moving

What the difference in prices, rent, homes and weather comes to, using the published figures for the two places. Add your income to see what it would take to keep pace.

Moving from Douglas to Brookhaven

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Everyday prices
The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes no regional price index for Douglas or Brookhaven, so nothing here is estimated in its place.
Income to keep the same purchasing power
Needs a price index for both places.
A new two-bedroom lease
−$121 a month
HUD benchmarks it at $852 in Brookhaven against $973 in Douglas.
The median home
9% less
$121,900 in Brookhaven against $133,300 in Douglas.
The weather you would swap
Winters 1°F colder
Normal January lows are 38°F in Brookhaven against 39°F in Douglas; July highs are 91°F against 93°F (summers 2°F cooler).

These are differences between published figures, not a forecast of your budget. Income and sales taxes, commuting, schools, insurance and the job you would actually get are not in them, and a price index describes a metropolitan area, so two places in one metro read the same. HUD’s rent is a benchmark for a new lease, not a listing.

Signals

Douglas
Brookhaven
Opportunity: Douglas is the more favorable of the two.
Opportunity
58 · Top 47%
vs
43 · Bottom 22%
Growth: Brookhaven is the more favorable of the two.
Growth
61 · Top 27%
vs
62 · Top 26%
Climate: Brookhaven is the more favorable of the two.
Climate
75 · Top 29%
vs
78 · Top 21%
Physical resilience: Brookhaven is the more favorable of the two.
Physical resilience
54 · Bottom 46%
vs
55 · Bottom 47%
Housing affordability: Brookhaven is the more favorable of the two.
Housing affordability
66 · Bottom 48%
vs
74 · Top 29%
Schools: Brookhaven is the more favorable of the two.
Schools
44 · Bottom 43%
vs
50 · Top 50%
Access: Douglas is the more favorable of the two.
Access
69 · Bottom 10%
vs
62 · Bottom 7%
Economic stability: Douglas is the more favorable of the two.
Economic stability
18 · Bottom 2%
vs
16 · Bottom 1%

Measured values

MetricDouglasBrookhavenSource period
Population11,74911,6502024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income — the two are too close to separate$34,408 ±$5,028$36,685 ±$8,1792024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income$21,605$26,706 — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Population density813/sq mi538/sq mi2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value$133,300$121,9002024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent — the two are too close to separate$680 ±$93$740 ±$1032024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, two bedroom$973$852 — more favorableFY2026
Homeownership rate45.7%53.7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment rate3.6% — more favorable4.3%July 2026
Employment change (year over year)+2.2% — more favorable−0.5%July 2026
Bachelor's degree or higher — the two are too close to separate16.5% ±4%21.3% ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate — the two are too close to separate29.4% ±6%28.5% ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units permitted (12 months)393212 months ending July 2026
Permits per 1,000 residents3.3 — more favorable2.712 months ending July 2026
Permit change (year over year)+5.4%+166.7%12 months ending July 2026
Average July high93°F91°F1991-2020 Normals
Average January low39°F38°F1991-2020 Normals
Annual precipitation44.8"60.6"1991-2020 Normals
Distance to major airport56 mi55 mi — more favorableNASR current cycle
Average commute15.5 min — more favorable20.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year
Median age31.242.52024 ACS 5-Year
Public schools8112024-25 school year
Students per teacher14.613.3 — more favorable2024-25 school year
Math proficiency39.2%38.3%2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency36.8%41.1%2018-19 school year
Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility100.0%71.0%2024-25 school year

A bolded value is the more favorable of the two where the metric has a clear direction. Metrics like population and density have no inherent better or worse and are shown unweighted.

4 rows above show both figures with a ± margin and neither in bold. Those come from the American Community Survey, which samples rather than counts, and the gap between the two is smaller than the uncertainty on the figures themselves — so the survey did not find a difference to report, and calling either one the winner would be reading a result out of noise.

The number of units permitted is not marked because the larger place always permits more; the per-resident rate is the fair comparison. The year-over-year change is not marked either: a percentage on fewer than 300 units swings on a handful of permits.

Georgia and Mississippi do not give the same test. Each state writes its own assessment and sets its own passing score, so the two proficiency rows above are not directly comparable — the difference between them partly measures which standard is harder. Students per teacher and the school count are unaffected, and each profile ranks its own proficiency within its own state.

Physical risk tradeoff

Douglas

Elevated or high exposure: hurricane.

Brookhaven

Elevated or high exposure: hurricane, tornado.

Your best match

Weight what matters to you. Your preferences stay in this browser and never change either Area Score.

Douglas
—
Douglas: Your Score
58
Area Score
Brookhaven
—
Brookhaven: Your Score
57
Area Score

Select your priorities to see which of the two fits them better.

Full profiles: Douglas, GA · Brookhaven, MS · How this is calculated: methodology