Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Mississippi with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Mississippi that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Mississippi at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Ripley.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In Mississippi For 2026
The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.
For more Mississippi reading:
- Best Counties To Live In Mississippi
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Mississippi
- Best Places To Retire In Mississippi
The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Mississippi For 2026
/10
Population: 5,377
Median Home Price: $138,468
Population Change: -0.7%
Home Price Change: -6.1%
More on Ripley: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,357
Median Home Price: $122,992
Population Change: -0.1%
Home Price Change: 7.3%
More on Forest: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 6,632
Median Home Price: $133,497
Population Change: 14.3%
Home Price Change: -0.7%
More on Columbia: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,983
Median Home Price: $139,870
Population Change: -0.6%
Home Price Change: 4.3%
More on Louisville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,806
Median Home Price: $201,462
Population Change: 1.6%
Home Price Change: 3.6%
More on Pontotoc: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 6,097
Median Home Price: $302,881
Population Change: 2.6%
Home Price Change: 1.1%
More on Pass Christian: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 7,062
Median Home Price: $210,333
Population Change: -0.1%
Home Price Change: -0.2%
More on Waveland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 6,933
Median Home Price: $113,939
Population Change: -0.9%
Home Price Change: 14.2%
More on Kosciusko: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 6,500
Median Home Price: $157,257
Population Change: -1.0%
Home Price Change: -0.4%
More on Amory: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 6,996
Median Home Price: $137,663
Population Change: -0.5%
Home Price Change: 3.9%
More on Philadelphia: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Mississippi for 2026?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 11. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Mississippi. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Mississippi with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2020-2024 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Mississippi with the following caveats:
- Home prices had to be within 20% of the state average (Much lower than that, and you get to some of the more dangerous places)
- Home prices increased in the last year, and
- Above 5,000 people (Bigger cities have more data points)
So of the 0 cities and towns in Mississippi, only 61 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 61 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Ripley is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Magnolia State.
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Mississippi for 2026
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Mississippi. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Mississippi are Ripley, Forest, Columbia, Louisville, Pontotoc, Pass Christian, Waveland, Kosciusko, Amory, and Philadelphia.
So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
For more Mississippi reading, check out:
Best Places To Buy A Home In Mississippi
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ripley | 5,377 | $138,468 | -0.7% | -6.1% |
| 2 | Forest | 5,357 | $122,992 | -0.1% | 7.3% |
| 3 | Columbia | 6,632 | $133,497 | 14.3% | -0.7% |
| 4 | Louisville | 5,983 | $139,870 | -0.6% | 4.3% |
| 5 | Pontotoc | 5,806 | $201,462 | 1.6% | 3.6% |
| 6 | Pass Christian | 6,097 | $302,881 | 2.6% | 1.1% |
| 7 | Waveland | 7,062 | $210,333 | -0.1% | -0.2% |
| 8 | Kosciusko | 6,933 | $113,939 | -0.9% | 14.2% |
| 9 | Amory | 6,500 | $157,257 | -1.0% | -0.4% |
| 10 | Philadelphia | 6,996 | $137,663 | -0.5% | 3.9% |
| 11 | Batesville | 7,387 | $200,429 | -0.6% | 5.0% |
| 12 | Richland | 7,346 | $217,271 | 1.3% | 0.5% |
| 13 | Holly Springs | 6,704 | $175,426 | -2.3% | -0.1% |
| 14 | Senatobia | 8,380 | $236,533 | 0.9% | -0.8% |
| 15 | Diamondhead | 9,338 | $244,373 | 0.0% | -1.2% |
| 16 | Booneville | 9,246 | $140,559 | 2.1% | -1.6% |
| 17 | New Albany | 7,663 | $199,590 | 0.0% | 4.8% |
| 18 | Flowood | 10,587 | $328,701 | 2.0% | 1.0% |
| 19 | Indianola | 9,062 | $103,787 | -3.2% | 4.2% |
| 20 | West Point | 9,900 | $143,439 | -0.7% | 1.3% |
| 21 | Petal | 11,294 | $223,365 | 0.9% | 1.6% |
| 22 | Yazoo City | 10,219 | $73,051 | -0.5% | 7.4% |
| 23 | Picayune | 11,900 | $193,808 | 0.5% | 1.9% |
| 24 | Cleveland | 10,623 | $143,487 | -2.1% | 0.9% |
| 25 | Byram | 12,799 | $222,108 | -0.4% | 2.7% |
| 26 | Canton | 10,811 | $223,699 | -0.5% | 4.6% |
| 27 | Brookhaven | 11,650 | $160,659 | -0.1% | -0.0% |
| 28 | Grenada | 12,375 | $133,953 | -0.9% | 0.9% |
| 29 | Mccomb | 12,049 | $89,932 | -1.3% | 5.8% |
| 30 | Moss Point | 11,957 | $146,443 | -0.9% | 1.5% |
| 31 | Bay St. Louis | 10,188 | $236,957 | 2.2% | -0.2% |
| 32 | D’iberville | 13,203 | $238,690 | 1.3% | 2.6% |
| 33 | Greenwood | 14,086 | $87,552 | 0.7% | -2.8% |
| 34 | Corinth | 14,323 | $181,417 | -0.9% | 7.1% |
| 35 | Natchez | 14,192 | $117,030 | -0.1% | 0.4% |
| 36 | Clarksdale | 14,231 | $42,685 | -1.3% | 2.0% |
| 37 | Long Beach | 17,009 | $232,929 | 0.8% | 0.4% |
| 38 | Hernando | 17,949 | $344,671 | 2.1% | 1.0% |
| 39 | Ocean Springs | 18,646 | $270,587 | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| 40 | Laurel | 17,679 | $147,336 | 3.2% | 5.6% |
| 41 | Gautier | 19,046 | $190,096 | 0.1% | 1.2% |
| 42 | Pascagoula | 21,710 | $143,032 | -0.5% | 0.8% |
| 43 | Vicksburg | 20,589 | $145,564 | -1.7% | 2.4% |
| 44 | Columbus | 23,348 | $172,831 | -1.1% | 1.0% |
| 45 | Brandon | 25,542 | $284,754 | 0.7% | 0.8% |
| 46 | Ridgeland | 24,587 | $282,705 | 0.2% | 2.6% |
| 47 | Clinton | 27,195 | $237,467 | -0.8% | 1.7% |
| 48 | Starkville | 25,721 | $279,619 | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| 49 | Madison | 27,946 | $410,431 | 0.6% | 0.5% |
| 50 | Pearl | 27,737 | $205,782 | 1.0% | 3.6% |
| 51 | Horn Lake | 26,647 | $202,372 | 0.1% | 1.2% |
| 52 | Oxford | 26,411 | $412,781 | 1.2% | 0.8% |
| 53 | Greenville | 28,166 | $61,070 | -2.3% | 30.3% |
| 54 | Meridian | 34,137 | $113,055 | -1.0% | 4.3% |
| 55 | Tupelo | 37,791 | $203,314 | -0.1% | 0.6% |
| 56 | Olive Branch | 47,019 | $331,684 | 1.0% | 0.3% |
| 57 | Hattiesburg | 48,619 | $220,234 | 0.2% | 1.9% |
| 58 | Biloxi | 48,861 | $232,658 | -0.3% | 2.2% |
| 59 | Southaven | 56,226 | $274,141 | 1.3% | 0.7% |
| 60 | Gulfport | 73,003 | $200,520 | 0.6% | 1.6% |
| 61 | Jackson | 146,631 | $87,256 | -2.1% | 8.7% |