Brookhaven, MS

Micro Area Profile

34,877 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Brookhaven, MS micropolitan area.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 35% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity654th of 835 metro and micro areas measured36
Schools365th of 695 metro and micro areas measured49
Growth465th of 834 metro and micro areas measured47
Housing affordabilityTop 39% of 835 metro and micro areas measured76
ClimateTop 10% of 835 metro and micro areas measured78
Physical resilienceTop 48% of 835 metro and micro areas measured56
Access667th of 835 metro and micro areas measured60
Economic stability807th of 835 metro and micro areas measured8
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 4.3% and the Opportunity signal places Brookhaven in the bottom 22%.

In the public schools here, 36% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.5 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 29% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.5 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
34,877
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$51,119
Bottom 8% nationally
Density
59/sq mi
586.2 sq mi of land
Median age
41.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Mississippi
Nearest major airport
JAN
58 mi · Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers Intl
Median home value
$155,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.3% — higher than in all but 45% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 0.5% over the past year, to 13,615 employed residents.

Median household income of $51,119 is lower than in 92% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$4,4252024 ACS 5-Year$51,119Bottom 8%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,0562024 ACS 5-Year$28,628Bottom 11%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year21.2%Bottom 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.1 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.5 minBottom 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year19.3%Bottom 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year84.9%97th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202613,615Bottom 10%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.2%Top 50%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.5%Top 47%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202614,22710th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year69.2%Bottom 13%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.4%Top 35%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.3%Bottom 45%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.0%1st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.12.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.3% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

36% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 40% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.5 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.5
across 10 of them
Math proficiency
36.0%
Bottom 32% in Mississippi
Reading proficiency
40.5%
Top 42% in Mississippi
The 12 largest public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Brookhaven High SchoolBrookhaven School District76112.137%31%
Bogue Chitto SchoolLincoln County School District74715.224%37%
Loyd Star Attendance CenterLincoln County School District74114.827%42%
Enterprise Attendance CenterLincoln County School District66713.641%45%
West Lincoln SchoolLincoln County School District63614.161%58%
Mamie Martin ElementaryBrookhaven School District62214.1——
Brookhaven Elementary SchoolBrookhaven School District36813.628%44%
Lipsey Middle SchoolBrookhaven School District34112.627%30%
Alexander Junior HighBrookhaven School District34012.141%31%
MS School Of The ArtsMS School Of The Arts1048.7——
Mullins SchoolBrookhaven School District0———
Brookhaven Technical CenterBrookhaven School District0———

70.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Mississippi’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,089 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.70% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $852, some 12% above the $760 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $852 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $34,100 a year, about 67% of the median household income here of $51,119.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $760 a month.

A median home at $155,800 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $62,848, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
28.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$852
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$760
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$155,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Brookhaven’s median household income of $51,119, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.5Top 42%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year74.9%80th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±292024 ACS 5-Year15,96615th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$649Top 1%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,126Top 4%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$852Top 3%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$822024 ACS 5-Year$760Top 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$12,3632024 ACS 5-Year$155,80018th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1352024 ACS 5-Year$1,08917th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,1652024 ACS 5-Year$62,848Bottom 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year0.70%38th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year28.6%Top 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1112024 ACS 5-Year18714th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.2%32nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year16.4%97th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4022024 ACS 5-Year2,80831st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

47/ 100
Ranks 465 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 34,956 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 32 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
32
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.9
Bottom 16% nationally
Year over year
+167%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202435k35k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 38°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 60.6 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MCCOMB/PIKE CO/JOHN E LEWIS AP, 24.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals60.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals32°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

56 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 34% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HurricaneElevated
TornadoElevated
Strong windModerate
HailModerate
LightningModerate
LandslideModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, wildfire, ice storm, earthquake, drought, inland flooding, winter weather, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers Intl at 58 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year86.1%Bottom 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle58 miBottom 29%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 4%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.2%Bottom 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers IntlJAN58 mi8,500 ft
Stennis IntlHSA100 mi8,498 ft
Louis Armstrong New Orleans IntlMSY107 mi10,104 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
53
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

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