Lamar County, MS

County Profile

65,713 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lamar County, MS.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

67out of 100
Area Score
Top 23% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 21% of 1,463 counties measured70
SchoolsTop 4% of 1,377 counties measured89
Growth1,206th of 1,453 counties measured32
Housing affordabilityTop 19% of 1,462 counties measured81
ClimateTop 15% of 1,463 counties measured77
Physical resilience806th of 1,463 counties measured55
Access1,077th of 1,463 counties measured68
Economic stability761st of 1,463 counties measured59
The quick read

Lamar County ranks in the top 21% of counties measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.3% and median household income of $70,909.

Public schools test above most of the state: 62% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 4% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 26 units authorized over the past twelve months, 41% below the prior year.

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
65,713
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$70,909
Top 35% nationally
Density
132/sq mi
496.6 sq mi of land
Median age
37.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Lamar County
Mississippi
Metro area
Nearest major airport
HSA
57 mi · Stennis Intl
Median home value
$224,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.3%, lower than in 81% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 0.7% over the past year, to 29,452 employed residents.

34% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 85% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$57,44947th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$54,79340th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,6162024 ACS 5-Year$70,909Top 35%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,1662024 ACS 5-Year$39,058Top 29%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$51,784Bottom 32%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.6%Bottom 45%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.6 minBottom 44%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year34.5%Top 15%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year81.2%77th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202629,452Bottom 46%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+1.9%Top 29%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.7%Bottom 47%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202630,44545th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.0%Top 33%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%51st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.5%Top 27%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.3%Top 19%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.4%20th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.01.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.3% in July 2026. It has been falling, 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202471k64k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $70,909 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Hattiesburg, MS

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons2,600$28,410
Registered Nurses2,190$76,270
Cashiers2,110$26,040
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,960$22,550
Home Health and Personal Care Aides1,460$25,410
Customer Service Representatives1,280$36,700

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

62% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.5 students for every full-time teacher across 15 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
17
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.5
across 15 of them
Math proficiency
61.6%
Top 9% in Mississippi
Reading proficiency
54.7%
Top 3% in Mississippi
The 12 largest of 17 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Oak Grove High SchoolLamar County School District1,75014.371%58%
Oak Grove Middle SchoolLamar County School District1,16013.069%51%
Bellevue ElementaryLamar County School District1,14514.070%62%
Sumrall Elementary SchoolLamar County School District96015.269%64%
Longleaf ElementaryLamar County School District78714.665%60%
Oak Grove ElementaryLamar County School District75813.1——
Sumrall High SchoolLamar County School District61613.152%47%
Purvis High SchoolLamar County School District61412.847%52%
Sumrall Middle SchoolLamar County School District48414.268%49%
Purvis Lower ElementaryLamar County School District44815.4——
Purvis Middle SchoolLamar County School District44714.954%40%
Purvis Upper ElementaryLamar County School District37713.549%52%

55.1% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 11% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 89.3, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Hattiesburg, MS Metro Area is up 40% over five years, and up 4.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,479 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.66% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,047, close to the $1,126 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,047 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $41,900 a year, about 59% of the median household income here of $70,909.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,126 a month.

A median home at $224,700 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $82,585, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
89.3

Prices here run about 11% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Hattiesburg, MS Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
26.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,047
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,126
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$224,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Lamar County’s median household income of $70,909, 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
Cost of living indexthe Hattiesburg, MS Metro Area’s figure202389.3Top 15%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Hattiesburg, MS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.7%71st percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Hattiesburg, MS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+40.2%29th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Hattiesburg, MS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+74.3%20th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.7Bottom 39%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year69.5%27th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±532024 ACS 5-Year27,68572nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$888Top 40%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,348Top 32%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,047Top 33%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$642024 ACS 5-Year$1,126Bottom 21%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,0312024 ACS 5-Year$224,70065th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1032024 ACS 5-Year$1,47945th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,2672024 ACS 5-Year$82,585Top 37%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.66%36th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year26.5%Top 37%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2142024 ACS 5-Year42755th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.5%35th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.8%31st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3742024 ACS 5-Year2,30459th percentileof 3,2222024 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

32/ 100
Ranks 1,206 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 grown 4% since 2020, reaching 66,734 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 26 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Lamar County in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $57,449, close to the $54,793 of households that moved out.

At 0.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
26
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.4
Bottom 6% nationally
Year over year
−41%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202467k64k
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 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
31%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$57,449
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$54,793
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Forrest County, MS 1,304 people · 31% of arrivals
  2. Jones County, MS 192 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  3. Marion County, MS 143 people · 3.4% of arrivals
  4. Harrison County, MS 141 people · 3.3% of arrivals
  5. Covington County, MS 130 people · 3.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Forrest County, MS 1,363 people · 32% of departures
  2. Marion County, MS 166 people · 3.9% of departures
  3. Harrison County, MS 156 people · 3.6% of departures
  4. Jones County, MS 154 people · 3.6% of departures
  5. Covington County, MS 119 people · 2.8% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420256544
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−31%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 38°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 58.9 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station HATTIESBURG CHAIN MUNI AP, 16.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals58.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals33°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

55 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 40% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

HurricaneElevated
WildfireModerate
LightningModerate
LandslideModerate
Cold waveModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Lamar County has a modeled homicide rate of about 6.1 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 17.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 12.8 per 100,000 residents in Lamar County.

Homicide
6.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
17.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
12.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
21.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Lamar County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

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.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Stennis Intl at 57 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year88.6%Top 37%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle57 miBottom 24%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.3%Top 43%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Stennis IntlHSA57 mi8,498 ft
Mobile RgnlMOB83 mi8,502 ft
Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers IntlJAN84 mi8,500 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
67
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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)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
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
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
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.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.