A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Brookhaven$1,020/mo

Typical home $165K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.12% · or rent about $740/mo · Housing →

Picayune$1,150/mo

Typical home $195K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.83% · or rent about $931/mo · Housing →

The difference: $140 a month, about $1,700 a year, between Picayune and Brookhaven.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Picayune places higher on 14 of 21 MS lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Mississippi ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

–BrookhavenNot graded C−PicayuneSafer than 20% of U.S. towns

Schools

B−BrookhavenBetter than 51% of districts in the state B−PicayuneBetter than 54% of districts in the state

Health

DBrookhavenHealthier than 7% of U.S. towns DPicayuneHealthier than 11% of U.S. towns

5Brookhaven

14Picayune

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Shortest commuteGetting around · 104 towns #19#95 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 104 towns #72#17 Most remote workersWork · 102 towns #88#42 Fastest growingGrowth · 103 towns #73#27 Lowest depressionHealth · 104 towns #9#50 Cheapest rentCost of living · 99 towns #22#57 Most conserved landOutdoors · 94 towns #55#24 Best schoolsSchools · 92 towns #71#50

Left end = #1 in Mississippi. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Brookhaven’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

BrookhavenPicayune

Snow a year0″0″

January low36°F 38°F

July high90°F 92°F

Growing season (days)242d 255d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)33rd 91st

Outdoors & history

BrookhavenPicayune

Trails0 mi 2 mi

Conserved land1.6%5.7%

Settled1818 1904

National Register places15 1

Archive photos12 12

Famous people born here32 —

Community

BrookhavenPicayune

Library hours a week43 hrs 37 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

86 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

BrookhavenMS PicayuneMS

Brookhaven ↔ Picayune86 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Mississippi average

BrookhavenPicayune

People

Population 11,650Lowest 11,900Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -6.7%Lowest +9.3%Highest

Median age 42.5±1.9Highest 10% above MS 41.8±2.3Lowest 8% above MS

Brookhaven and Picayune are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 21.6%±2.7Lowest MS: 23.3% 23.8%±3.7Highest MS: 23.3%

Picayune and Brookhaven are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 19.4%±2.7Lowest MS: 17.2% 19.8%±3.1Highest MS: 17.2%

Picayune and Brookhaven are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 21.3%Highest MS: 25.1% 16.2%Lowest MS: 25.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.1%±1.6Lowest MS: 6.1% 5.1%±1.7Highest MS: 6.1%

Picayune and Brookhaven are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $36,685±$8kLowest 35% below MS $41,213±$8kHighest 27% below MS

Picayune and Brookhaven are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $121,900±$38kLowest 28% below MS $157,100±$15kHighest 7% below MS

Picayune and Brookhaven are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $740±$103Lowest 22% below MS $931±$95Highest about the MS average

Picayune and Brookhaven are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,364Highest 12% above MS $1,302Lowest 7% above MS

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 48.4%±10.8Highest MS: 51.3% 47.5%±9.5Lowest MS: 51.3%

Brookhaven and Picayune are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 28.6%Highest MS: 18.9% 20.6%Lowest MS: 18.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 53.7%Lowest MS: 70% 58.8%Highest MS: 70%

Typical home builtmedian year 1975Lowest 11 yrs older than MS 1976Highest 10 yrs older than MS

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 19 minLowest 28% below MS 32 minHighest 25% above MS

Work from home 1.7%±1.4Lowest MS: 5.9% 5.9%±2.9Highest MS: 5.9%

Picayune and Brookhaven are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 43.3%Highest 23.1%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 18.8 miLowest 22.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 2.34Highest 1.32Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Jackson (6%)Slidell (7%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in PicayuneFew work in Brookhaven

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.6%Lowest 5.7%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 1.8 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3Lowest 9Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 36.8Lowest 42.3Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #71 of 92 in MS #50 of 92 in MS

School district MS School Of The Arts · Brookhaven School DistrictPicayune School District

High school in town Brookhaven High SchoolPicayune Memorial High School

Students per teacherat that high school 12.0Lowest 15.5Highest

Mississippi average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Brookhaven neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Brookhaven’s Town Square.

Picayune neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Picayune’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Brookhaven

+ Compare

Corinth14,323 people · $177K homes

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Natchez14,192 people · $119K homes

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Greenwood14,086 people · $109K homes

+ Compare

Grenada12,375 people · $146K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Brookhaven vs Picayune

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs about the same each month

Picayune places higher on 14 of 21 MS lists

What daily life feels like in each

86 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Brookhaven and Picayune

Towns like Brookhaven

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