Madison, Brandon, Hernando: These cities aren’t just some of the best places to live in Mississippi. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Magnolia State.
Madison in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $100,978 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 3.1%.
If you’re thinking of moving to one of these towns, you’ll probably need to start saving. The richest places in Mississippi share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2012-2016 American Community Survey for the 62 places in Mississippi with more than 5,000 people.
- Madison (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Brandon (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Hernando (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Olive Branch (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Clinton (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Flowood (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Diamondhead (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Ridgeland (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Byram (Homes For Sale)
- Southaven (Photos | Homes For Sale)
For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in Mississippi.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Mississippi:
How We Determined The Richest Places In Mississippi For 2018
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places”. So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2012-2016 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 62 places with more than 5,000 people in Mississippi, we ranked each place from 1 to 62 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Madison, crowned the “Richest Place In Mississippi For 2018”.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 62 places.
/10
Population: 25,473.0
Median Income: $100,978.0
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 3.1%
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: 23,186.0
Median Income: $71,485.0
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 5.4%
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: 15,227.0
Median Income: $66,486.0
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 6.8%
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: 35,508.0
Median Income: $67,004.0
Unemployment Rate: 5.9%
Poverty Rate: 8.1%
More on Olive Branch: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Olive Branch is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 33,484 at the 2010 census, up from 21,054 in 2000. Olive Branch is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, and is part of the Memphis Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region that consists of three counties in southwest Tennessee, five counties in northwest Mississippi, and two counties in eastern Arkansas. From 1990 to 2010 Olive Branch was the fastest growing city in the United States, with a growth rate of 838%. Along with other rapidly growing suburbs in DeSoto County, Olive Branch attributes most of its growth and development to the exodus of large numbers of middle-class families from central Memphis.
/10
Population: 25,411.0
Median Income: $58,723.0
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 14.3%
More on Clinton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Clinton is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. Situated in the Jackson metropolitan area, it is the tenth largest city in Mississippi. The population was 25,216 at the 2010 United States Census.
/10
Population: 8,532.0
Median Income: $58,119.0
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 11.0%
More on Flowood: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Flowood is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi. The population was 7,823 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
/10
Population: 8,341.0
Median Income: $70,450.0
Unemployment Rate: 7.6%
Poverty Rate: 7.4%
More on Diamondhead: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Diamondhead is a city in southeastern Hancock County, Mississippi, United States. The city is located just over 50 miles (80 km) northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is part of the GulfportBiloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. In February 2012, Diamondhead was officially incorporated as a city. At the time of the 2010 census, when Diamondhead was an unincorporated census-designated place, the population was 8,425. The city population, with slightly different boundaries, was estimated at 8,217 in 2016.
/10
Population: 24,338.0
Median Income: $55,647.0
Unemployment Rate: 5.5%
Poverty Rate: 10.3%
More on Ridgeland: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Ridgeland is a city in Madison County, Mississippi. The population was 24,047 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
/10
Population: 11,610.0
Median Income: $56,968.0
Unemployment Rate: 6.0%
Poverty Rate: 8.2%
More on Byram: Real Estate | Data
Byram is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,489 as of the 2010 census, up from 7,386 at the 2000 census, at which time it was an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP). It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was incorporated for a second time in its history on June 16, 2009.
/10
Population: 51,816.0
Median Income: $58,427.0
Unemployment Rate: 5.9%
Poverty Rate: 12.4%
More on Southaven: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Southaven is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. It is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, and a principal city in the Memphis metropolitan area. The 2010 census reported a population of 48,982, making Southaven the third-largest city in Mississippi. Southaven is traversed from north to south by the I-55/I-69 freeway. The city’s name derives from the fact that Southaven is located south of Whitehaven, a neighborhood in Memphis.
There You Have It – The Wealthiest Places In Mississippi For 2018
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in Mississippi, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Mississippi.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Mississippi, according to data:
Poorest: Yazoo City
2nd Poorest: Louisville
3rd Poorest: Greenville
For more Mississippi reading, check out:
- 10 Safest Places In Mississippi
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Mississippi
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Mississippi
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Mississippi
| Rank | City | RichScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madison | 1.67 |
| 2 | Brandon | 3.17 |
| 3 | Hernando | 4.5 |
| 4 | Olive Branch | 6.83 |
| 5 | Clinton | 7.33 |
| 6 | Flowood | 7.33 |
| 7 | Diamondhead | 9.0 |
| 8 | Ridgeland | 9.17 |
| 9 | Byram | 9.33 |
| 10 | Southaven | 10.17 |
| 11 | Ocean Springs | 10.67 |
| 12 | D’iberville | 12.33 |
| 13 | Petal | 12.83 |
| 14 | Richland | 13.67 |
| 15 | Pontotoc | 15.33 |
| 16 | Batesville | 15.5 |
| 17 | Long Beach | 16.33 |
| 18 | Gautier | 17.17 |
| 19 | Pearl | 20.67 |
| 20 | Tupelo | 21.17 |
| 21 | Horn Lake | 22.5 |
| 22 | New Albany | 23.17 |
| 23 | Senatobia | 23.33 |
| 24 | Canton | 23.33 |
| 25 | Bay St. Louis | 24.33 |
| 26 | Pass Christian | 27.5 |
| 27 | Biloxi | 32.0 |
| 28 | Pascagoula | 32.67 |
| 29 | Amory | 33.0 |
| 30 | Waveland | 33.17 |
| 31 | Corinth | 33.83 |
| 32 | Forest | 35.0 |
| 33 | Gulfport | 35.33 |
| 34 | Philadelphia | 35.67 |
| 35 | Oxford | 36.0 |
| 36 | Grenada | 36.33 |
| 37 | Picayune | 37.0 |
| 38 | Moss Point | 37.0 |
| 39 | Starkville | 39.33 |
| 40 | Cleveland | 41.17 |
| 41 | Brookhaven | 42.33 |
| 42 | Ripley | 42.67 |
| 43 | Columbus | 43.0 |
| 44 | Meridian | 44.0 |
| 45 | Jackson | 44.0 |
| 46 | Aberdeen | 44.67 |
| 47 | Holly Springs | 45.0 |
| 48 | Mccomb | 45.17 |
| 49 | Vicksburg | 45.33 |
| 50 | Booneville | 45.33 |
| 51 | Laurel | 47.0 |
| 52 | Natchez | 47.83 |
| 53 | Greenwood | 49.83 |
| 54 | Hattiesburg | 51.67 |
| 55 | Kosciusko | 52.67 |
| 56 | Columbia | 53.33 |
| 57 | West Point | 54.0 |
| 58 | Clarksdale | 55.0 |
| 59 | Indianola | 55.33 |
| 60 | Greenville | 57.33 |
| 61 | Louisville | 59.67 |
| 62 | Yazoo City | 62.0 |
