Long Beach, Mississippi
Area Profile
17,009 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Long Beach, in Harrison County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 16 sourcesUnemployment is 3.4% and median household income $70,332, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Harrison County, MS, which contains Long Beach, rather than for Long Beach alone.
Public schools test above most of the state: 62% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 8% of published profiles for schools.
Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 135 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 38% 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
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Harrison County, MS, which contains Long Beach, is 3.4%, lower than in 84% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment across Harrison County, MS, which contains Long Beach, fell 1.2% over the past year, to 90,857 employed residents.
36% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 77% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsHarrison County, MS’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $52,511 | 11th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftHarrison County, MS’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $49,588 | 6th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$7,8982024 ACS 5-Year | $70,332 | Top 45%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$3,8312024 ACS 5-Year | $35,555 | Top 44%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 11.1% | Bottom 49%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 24.9 min | Top 40%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 35.6% | Top 23%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 82.4% | 68th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentHarrison County, MS’s figureJuly 2026 | 90,857 | Top 44%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Harrison County, MS’s figureJuly 2026 | +2.7% | Top 15%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Harrison County, MS’s figureJuly 2026 | −1.2% | Bottom 39%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceHarrison County, MS’s figureJuly 2026 | 94,085 | 56th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 79.1% | Top 47%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageGulfport-Biloxi, MS Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $53,290 | Bottom 3%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageGulfport-Biloxi, MS Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $43,470 | Bottom 4%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 1st percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Harrison County, MS’s figureJuly 2026 | −0.5% | Top 25%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateHarrison County, MS’s figureJuly 2026 | 3.4% | Top 16%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 7.1% | 47th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Gulfport-Biloxi, MS
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 5,380 | $28,880 |
| Cashiers | 4,610 | $27,300 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 3,910 | $22,600 |
| Registered Nurses | 3,740 | $78,960 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 3,520 | $22,820 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 2,690 | $31,780 |
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.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Harrison County, MS, which contains this city.
62% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 62% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 14.2 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach High School | Long Beach School District | 895 | 13.6 | 57% | 61% |
| Harper McCaughan Elementary | Long Beach School District | 622 | 14.1 | 56% | 54% |
| Long Beach Middle School | Long Beach School District | 475 | 17.6 | 63% | 53% |
| Reeves Elementary | Long Beach School District | 453 | 14.2 | 67% | 72% |
| Quarles Elementary | Long Beach School District | 429 | 13.0 | 77% | 72% |
56.4% 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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 11% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 88.9, 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 Gulfport-Biloxi, MS Metro Area is up 43% over five years, and up 3.5% 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 $1,963 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.91% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,140, close to the $1,215 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,140 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $45,600 a year, about 65% of the median household income here of $70,332.
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 $1,215 a month.
A median home at $215,200 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $79,919, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
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 Gulfport-Biloxi, 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.
The figures above are measured against Long Beach’s median household income of $70,332, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Gulfport-Biloxi, MS Metro Area’s figure2023 | 88.9 | Top 4%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +3.5% | 59th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +42.5% | 49th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +79.5% | 26th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year | 2.7 | Bottom 43%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 65.7% | 29th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±3612024 ACS 5-Year | 7,785 | 92nd percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $923 | Top 16%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,471 | Top 16%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,140 | Top 16%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$722024 ACS 5-Year | $1,215 | Bottom 31%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$10,7512024 ACS 5-Year | $215,200 | 57th percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1802024 ACS 5-Year | $1,963 | 55th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$6,8112024 ACS 5-Year | $79,919 | Top 48%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.10%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.91% | 46th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 28.9% | Bottom 47%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±752024 ACS 5-Year | 112 | 90th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.4% | 65th percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.9% | 59th percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±1982024 ACS 5-Year | 802 | 93rd percentileof 32,330 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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 2% since 2020, reaching 17,217 in 2024.
Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 106 units authorized in 2025, up 10% on the prior year.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 135 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 Harrison County, which contains Long Beach, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $52,511, above the $49,588 of households that moved out.
At 7.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Jackson County, MS 1,789 people · 15% of arrivals
- Hancock County, MS 586 people · 5.0% of arrivals
- Forrest County, MS 256 people · 2.2% of arrivals
- Stone County, MS 253 people · 2.1% of arrivals
- St. Tammany Parish, LA 231 people · 2.0% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Jackson County, MS 1,981 people · 17% of departures
- Hancock County, MS 636 people · 5.5% of departures
- Stone County, MS 329 people · 2.8% of departures
- Mobile County, AL 203 people · 1.7% of departures
- Forrest County, MS 187 people · 1.6% 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. This is the figure for Harrison County, MS. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 42°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 62.8 inches.
Air quality measures a median index of 44, in the Good band, and about 5 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 62 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 62.8" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 42°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 90°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 7 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 5 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 44 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 31°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and tornado, with hurricane alone responsible for 56% 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.
Low or minimal exposure: lightning, tornado, heat wave, inland flooding, cold wave, hail, strong wind, ice storm, winter weather, earthquake, landslide, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Long Beach's police department reported 46 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 699.
Harrison County records 5.7 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 20.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 22.3 per 100,000 residents in Harrison County.
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.
Offenses are reported to the FBI by Long Beach’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 the county around Long Beach (Harrison County) rather than Long Beach itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.
- 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
3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Stennis Intl at 17 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year | 92.8% | Top 35%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 17 mi | Top 49%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 3 | Bottom 20%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.8% | Top 35%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stennis Intl | HSA | 17 mi | 8,498 ft |
| Mobile Rgnl | MOB | 59 mi | 8,502 ft |
| Louis Armstrong New Orleans Intl | MSY | 70 mi | 10,104 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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Other cities in Gulfport-Biloxi, MS
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gulfport | Harrison County | 73,003 | 58 | Gulfport vs Long Beach |
| Biloxi | Harrison County | 48,861 | 61 | Biloxi vs Long Beach |
| Pascagoula | Jackson County | 21,710 | 50 | Pascagoula vs Long Beach |
| Gautier | Jackson County | 19,046 | 62 | |
| Ocean Springs | Jackson County | 18,646 | 66 | |
| D'Iberville | Harrison County | 13,203 | 60 | |
| Moss Point | Jackson County | 11,957 | 50 | |
| Bay St. Louis | Hancock County | 10,188 | 62 |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Long Beach side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Long Beach from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Safety | U.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 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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 codes in Long Beach
1 ZIP areaEvery ZIP area in Long Beach with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Long Beach closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.
| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39560 | 18,702 | $69,769 | $219,000 | — |