Pearl River County, MS

County Profile

57,458 residents. Jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Pearl River County, MS.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 39% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity891st of 1,463 counties measured50
SchoolsTop 43% of 1,377 counties measured56
GrowthTop 3% of 1,453 counties measured82
Housing affordabilityTop 42% of 1,462 counties measured75
ClimateTop 10% of 1,463 counties measured78
Physical resilience1,408th of 1,463 counties measured12
AccessTop 42% of 1,463 counties measured85
Economic stability1,206th of 1,463 counties measured34
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.6% and median household income $58,135, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 48% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.1 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 448 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 50% on 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
57,458
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$58,135
Bottom 30% nationally
Density
71/sq mi
811.3 sq mi of land
Median age
41.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Pearl River County
Mississippi
Micro area
Nearest major airport
HSA
29 mi · Stennis Intl
Median home value
$182,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.6%, lower than in 70% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 1.5% over the past year, to 23,931 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$53,38134th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$47,96817th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,1632024 ACS 5-Year$58,135Bottom 30%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,5822024 ACS 5-Year$29,524Bottom 22%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$46,595Bottom 12%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.5%Bottom 28%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year36.2 minBottom 5%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year17.0%Bottom 22%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year76.9%45th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202623,931Bottom 38%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+3.8%Top 13%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.5%Bottom 32%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202624,81738th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year73.6%Bottom 41%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%28th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.7%Top 21%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.6%Top 30%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.8%52nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.61.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.6% 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

202120222023202458k54k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $58,135 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.

48% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 47% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.1 students for every full-time teacher across 14 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
20
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.1
across 14 of them
Math proficiency
47.5%
Top 41% in Mississippi
Reading proficiency
47.0%
Top 34% in Mississippi
The 12 largest of 20 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Pearl River Central ElementarPearl River County School District1,41416.844%47%
Pearl River Central High SchoolPearl River County School District95216.457%50%
Picayune Memorial High SchoolPicayune School District94015.749%54%
Pearl River Central Junior HighPearl River County School District76216.647%46%
Poplarville High SchoolPoplarville School District54012.672%52%
Poplarville Lower ElementaryPoplarville School District52117.4——
Middle School Of PoplarvillePoplarville School District47614.951%40%
Picayune Junior High SchoolPicayune School District46517.249%38%
West Side ElementaryPicayune School District44417.136%44%
Poplarville Upper ElementaryPoplarville School District43214.931%50%
Roseland Park ElementaryPicayune School District37020.629%41%
Nicholson ElementaryPicayune School District32414.742%42%

65.0% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Mississippi is up 40% over five years, and up 4.2% 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 $1,189 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.65% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $949, close to the $906 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $949 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,000 a year, about 65% of the median household income here of $58,135.

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 $906 a month.

A median home at $182,300 costs 2.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $65,291, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
28.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$949
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$906
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$182,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Pearl River County’s median household income of $58,135, 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 change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Mississippi’s figure2026 Q2+4.2%65th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Mississippi’s figure2026 Q2+40.4%30th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Mississippi’s figure2026 Q2+66.8%9th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.8Bottom 37%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.4%82nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±392024 ACS 5-Year25,44271st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$857Top 36%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,315Top 27%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$949Top 14%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$542024 ACS 5-Year$906Bottom 44%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,2912024 ACS 5-Year$182,30050th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$772024 ACS 5-Year$1,18932nd percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,4432024 ACS 5-Year$65,291Bottom 25%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.65%35th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year28.8%Bottom 40%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2002024 ACS 5-Year55861st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.2%45th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year11.8%68th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4642024 ACS 5-Year3,56271st 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.

Development Momentum

82/ 100
Top 3% of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of 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 5% since 2020, reaching 59,030 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 59,030 residents in 2024, up 1.4% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 448 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Pearl River County gained about 1.5% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $53,381, above the $47,968 of households that moved out.

At 7.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
448
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
7.8
Top 12% nationally
Year over year
+50%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202459k56k
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
+1.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
70%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$53,381
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$47,968
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. St. Tammany Parish, LA 600 people · 24% of arrivals
  2. Hancock County, MS 223 people · 8.8% of arrivals
  3. Harrison County, MS 159 people · 6.3% of arrivals
  4. Jefferson Parish, LA 152 people · 6.0% of arrivals
  5. Lamar County, MS 111 people · 4.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. St. Tammany Parish, LA 315 people · 16% of departures
  2. Hancock County, MS 193 people · 10% of departures
  3. Harrison County, MS 133 people · 6.9% of departures
  4. Forrest County, MS 102 people · 5.3% of departures
  5. Lamar County, MS 98 people · 5.1% 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

2022202320242025420306
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−7%).

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 39°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 65.0 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station POPLARVILLE EXP STN, 5.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals65.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals39°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

12 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and tornado, with hurricane alone responsible for 53% of it.

HurricaneHigh
WildfireModerate
TornadoModerate
Inland floodingElevated
DroughtModerate
LandslideModerate

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

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.

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, and no county figure could be attached to this page.
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. 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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Stennis Intl at 29 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year85.1%Bottom 37%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle29 miTop 41%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.8%Bottom 46%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Stennis IntlHSA29 mi8,498 ft
Louis Armstrong New Orleans IntlMSY67 mi10,104 ft
Mobile RgnlMOB80 mi8,502 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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56
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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
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.

Cities in Pearl River County, MS

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.