Hattiesburg, MS

The affordability dashboard for Hattiesburg, MS aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 3 ZIP codes covering 82,617 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C+ (60/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $56,935, median home value of $189,756, median rent of $1,052 per month, and 38.6% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,047 per month (studio $766, 1BR $888, 3BR $1,348, 4BR $1,386). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,731 per year, consuming 14% of the local median household income.

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Strengths visible in the raw data for Hattiesburg, MS include rent. Unemployment currently reads 6.9% and poverty 23.5% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.