What it's like to live in Hattiesburg
Hattiesburg is a small city in Mississippi with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, unemployment below the national average, and commutes that run shorter than most cities. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Hattiesburg deals with household incomes below the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, hospital ratings below the national average, and a poverty rate above the national average.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment
- Short commutes
- Low student-teacher ratio
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Air quality concerns
- Below-average hospital ratings
- High poverty rate
- Hot summers
- Very rainy — 64" of rain per year
How Hattiesburg compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Hattiesburg
Based on Hattiesburg's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,010
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $40,200 a year
- 46% of Hattiesburg renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$33,180
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $16,590
- Homes cost 3.6× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 29% below US
$1,005/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $1,005 a month. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $165,900. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $165,900 · 46% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▼ 14% below US
3.7% unemployment
Unemployment here is 3.7%, a little below the national average of 4.3%.
City-level (BLS)
Safety▼ 22% below US
256 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 3592/100k · Hattiesburg Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 33% below US
17 min average commute
Commutes run short here, averaging 17.4 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 9 in 10 workers drive to work.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 91°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 40°F. It's a wet climate overall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
2 hospitals
There are 2 Medicare-certified hospitals inside city limits. They average 2.0 out of 5 on Medicare's star rating.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforceNear US average
37% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 37% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
10 public schools inside the boundary
There are 10 public schools inside the boundary and 5 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 12:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument (89 miles away).
Bottom line
Hattiesburg's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks. A year of median rent ($1,005/mo) equals 26% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget and people who want short commutes. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Hattiesburg
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