When most people think of calling it quits on a career, they immediately think of a move to Florida.
But not not everyone wants to spend their golden years in Florida; some of us want to stay close to friends and family and within the great state of Mississippi.
Where exactly in Mississippi is the best place to retire? Well, there’s only one place to go for the answer — data — which returns Brandon as the best place to hang up your cleats.
To that end, we have tried to identify the places in Mississippi that are safe, affordable, and have plenty of things to keep you busy well into retirement.
What did we find after pouring through all the data? Let’s just say we hope folks in Brandon don’t mind us spreading the word.
Here are the 10 best places to retire in Mississippi for 2019:
- Brandon (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Natchez (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Hernando (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- West Point (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Picayune (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Laurel (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Long Beach (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Madison (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Vicksburg (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Petal (Photos | Homes For Sale)
Why did Brandon take the top spot? And where are Jackson and Gulfport?
Read on to see see all the golden parachute level details.
For Mississippi state reading:
- 10 Best Places To Live In Mississippi
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Mississippi
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Mississippi
- Best Places To Retire In America
/10
Population: 23,186
Rank Last Year: 59 (Up 58)
Median Rent: $956
Distance to Closest Airport: 5 miles
More on Brandon: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Brandon is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi. The population was 21,705 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Rankin County. Brandon is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area and located east of the state capital.
/10
Population: 15,345
Rank Last Year: 24 (Up 22)
Median Rent: $579
Distance to Closest Airport: 70 miles
More on Natchez: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 15,227
Rank Last Year: 54 (Up 51)
Median Rent: $933
Distance to Closest Airport: 13 miles
More on Hernando: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Hernando is a city in and the county seat of DeSoto County, which is on the northwest border of Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,090 at the 2010 census, up from 6,812 in 2000. DeSoto County is the second-most-populous county in the Memphis metropolitan area.
/10
Population: 11,042
Rank Last Year: 23 (Up 19)
Median Rent: $631
Distance to Closest Airport: 109 miles
More on West Point: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 10,732
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 2)
Median Rent: $764
Distance to Closest Airport: 50 miles
More on Picayune: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Picayune is the largest city in Pearl River County, Mississippi. The population was 10,878 at the 2010 census. Picayune was added to the New Orleans metropolitan area in 2014, however it remains its own town respectively. The city is located approximately 45 miles from New Orleans, Hattiesburg and Gulfport-Biloxi. The Stennis Space Center is 10 miles away.
Growing up here I found out how important family is no matter the good or bad that can happen between them.
What stood out to me in Picayune was the involment the community was to all the kids and teenagers. No matter if you were from there or not you would still be protected by the elders. I miss the good ole days.
/10
Population: 18,806
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 6)
Median Rent: $549
Distance to Closest Airport: 69 miles
More on Laurel: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Laurel is a city in and the second county seat of Jones County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 18,548. It is located northeast of Ellisville, the first county seat, which contains the first county courthouse. Laurel has the second county courthouse, as there are two judicial districts in Jones County.
/10
Population: 15,450
Rank Last Year: 52 (Up 45)
Median Rent: $955
Distance to Closest Airport: 70 miles
More on Long Beach: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Long Beach is a city located in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 14,792.
/10
Population: 25,473
Rank Last Year: 61 (Up 53)
Median Rent: $1,492
Distance to Closest Airport: 11 miles
More on Madison: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Madison is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,841 at the 2010 census. The population is currently over 25,000. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
/10
Population: 23,320
Rank Last Year: 20 (Up 11)
Median Rent: $623
Distance to Closest Airport: 47 miles
More on Vicksburg: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Vicksburg is the only city and county seat of Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is located 234 miles northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and 40 miles due west of Jackson, the state capital. It is located on the Mississippi River across from the state of Louisiana.
As a one-time resident of Vicksburg, it was a quaint, quiet town rich in culture…and crime was present, yet I just feel you missed again.
/10
Population: 10,736
Rank Last Year: 52 (Up 42)
Median Rent: $811
Distance to Closest Airport: 82 miles
More on Petal: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Petal is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, along the Leaf River. It is part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 10,454 in the 2010 census.
How We Determined The Best Places To Retire In the Magnolia State for 2019
To create our list of the best places in Mississippi to retire, we first used Census data to find all places in the Magnolia State — 362 cities and towns.
We then narrowed it down to places with at least 10,000 people that weren’t townships. This left us with 25 places from across the state.
For these 25, we looked at the following criteria taken from the Census, the FBI’s Crime Report, National Weather Service, and OpenFlights:
- Low cost of living as measured by rent
- Low crime
- Things to do (Museums, Colleges, and Libraries in town)
- Nice weather
- Distance to the closest international airport
- Other retirees (High median age)
We then ranked each of these places for each criteria from one to 25, with the lowest number being the best.
Finally, we took the average rank across these criteria. The place, in this case Brandon, with the lowest average rank was crowned the best of the best, a place for you to start your second careers.
Maybe You’re Not Ready To Retire In Mississippi Yet…
So there you have it, the best place to retire in Mississippi goes to Brandon.
If you’re not ready to hang up your office apparel yet, then these places might be up your alley:
- D’Iberville
- Biloxi
- Oxford
For more Mississippi reading, check out:
Where Are The Best Places To Retire In Mississippi?
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon | 23,186 |
| 2 | Natchez | 15,345 |
| 3 | Hernando | 15,227 |
| 4 | West Point | 11,042 |
| 5 | Picayune | 10,732 |
| 6 | Laurel | 18,806 |
| 7 | Long Beach | 15,450 |
| 8 | Madison | 25,473 |
| 9 | Vicksburg | 23,320 |
| 10 | Petal | 10,736 |
