The Best College Towns In Mississippi For 2024


Believe it or not, America has the best colleges in the world. It's been proven by data (and surveys) that the U.S. educational system is of the highest quality

It's actually not even close and Mississippi is home to a handful of them.

While we could debate which colleges within Mississippi are the 'best,' that's not the goal of this post.

Instead, ride along with us as we determine which college towns in Mississippi are the best.

You know, the type of places where there's energy and stimulation, but the type of place you can walk around at night. The happiest, chillest, most downright fun places where you can send your kids off to college where you won't break the bank, or worry about their well being.

The 10 Best College Towns In Mississippi For 2024

  1. Cleveland, MS
  2. Hattiesburg, MS
  3. Columbus, MS
  4. Clinton, MS
  5. Jackson, MS

While some of these may not seem like a 'real' college town per se, when you look at the numbers, it's hard to argue against.

And for those who live in Cleveland, Hattiesburg and Columbus - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Cleveland ranks in terms of the best college town in America.

Even though there are only 5 cities on our list, you need to remember there are another 362 places in Mississippi that don't even have a college. One might say you gotta be in it in to win it.

Read on to find out more or for more on Mississippi check out:

The 10 Best College Towns In Mississippi For 2024

Cleveland, MS
Source: Wikipedia User Kilobytezero | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
6
/10

Population: 11,082
% Undergrad Pop.: 30.3% (best)
Median Rent: $842 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 735.2% (3rd best)
Crime Rank: 7th best
More on Cleveland: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Delta State University

Hattiesburg, MS
Source: Wikipedia User Sturmgewehr88 | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility
3
/10

Population: 48,466
% Undergrad Pop.: 28.6% (2nd best)
Median Rent: $936 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 780.3% (4th best)
Crime Rank: 6th best
More on Hattiesburg: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: University of Southern Mississippi, William Carey University, Antonelli College-Hattiesburg

Columbus, MS
Source: Wikipedia User Shayanasadi | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 23,896
% Undergrad Pop.: 11.1% (4th best)
Median Rent: $885 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 984.5% (7th best)
Crime Rank: 4th best
More on Columbus: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: Mississippi University for Women

Clinton, MS
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 27,668
% Undergrad Pop.: 8.8% (5th best)
Median Rent: $1,179 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 418.9% (best)
Crime Rank: 2nd best
More on Clinton: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Mississippi College, Mississippi Institute of Aesthetics Nails & Cosmetology

Jackson, MS
Source: Wikipedia User FlickreviewR | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 153,271
% Undergrad Pop.: 5.3% (6th best)
Median Rent: $980 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 933.8% (6th best)
Crime Rank: 5th best
More on Jackson: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Jackson State University, Belhaven University, Millsaps College

How'd we figure out the best college towns in Mississippi?

To crunch our data on Mississippi's best college towns, we used Saturday Night Science to decide which qualities (or rankings) make sense to use in the data, and then crunch the numbers for our rankings.

First off, we firmly decided that only cities with a 4 year college should make the cut -- so there has to be at least one college granting bachelors degrees in town.

You might be surprised to hear that there are only 5 places in Mississippi with an institution of higher learning with that criteria.

Source of data include OpenStreetMaps, the College Scorecard, the U.S. Census, and FBI reporting data to include the following factors:

  • Students Make Up Large % of the Population
  • College-specific Factors
    • Graduation rate
    • Tuition Cost
    • Student Body Diversity
  • Town Characteristics
    • Safety
    • Affordability
    • Income and Employment Opportunities
  • Things to Do
    • Bars
    • Museums & Libraries
    • Population Density

We ranked each city across each of the criteria, with one being the best.

We rolled up the individual scores into the category and ranked them again based on the category.

Finally, we took the average rank across each category, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title "Best College Town In Mississippi For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in Mississippi.

And it looks like Cleveland placed Summa Cum Laude.

There You Have It -- The Best College Towns In The Mississippi

If you're looking for the best college towns in Mississippi, you came to the right place.

The best college towns in Mississippi are Cleveland, Hattiesburg, Columbus, Clinton, and Jackson.

These places all have great college sports programs, tons of stuff to do, and are great places to raise a family.

For more reading, check out:

5 Best College Towns In Mississippi

Rank City Population
1 Cleveland, MS 11082
2 Hattiesburg, MS 48466
3 Columbus, MS 23896
4 Clinton, MS 27668
5 Jackson, MS 153271

Best College Towns By State

Enjoy The Snack?