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%

Picayune$1,150/mo

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

Brookhaven$1,020/mo

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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

14Picayune

5Brookhaven

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

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

Left end = #1 in Mississippi. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Picayune’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

PicayuneBrookhaven

Snow a year0″0″

January low38°F 36°F

July high92°F 90°F

Growing season (days)255d 242d

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

Outdoors & history

PicayuneBrookhaven

Trails2 mi 0 mi

Conserved land5.7%1.6%

Settled1904 1818

National Register places1 15

Archive photos12 12

Famous people born here—32

Community

PicayuneBrookhaven

Library hours a week37 hrs 43 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.

PicayuneMS BrookhavenMS

Picayune ↔ Brookhaven86 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

PicayuneBrookhaven

People

Population 11,900Highest 11,650Lowest

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

Median age 41.8±2.3Lowest 8% above MS 42.5±1.9Highest 10% 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 23.8%±3.7Highest MS: 23.3% 21.6%±2.7Lowest 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+ 19.8%±3.1Highest MS: 17.2% 19.4%±2.7Lowest 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+ 16.2%Lowest MS: 25.1% 21.3%Highest MS: 25.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.1%±1.7Highest MS: 6.1% 3.1%±1.6Lowest 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 $41,213±$8kHighest 27% below MS $36,685±$8kLowest 35% 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 $157,100±$15kHighest 7% below MS $121,900±$38kLowest 28% 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 $931±$95Highest about the MS average $740±$103Lowest 22% below MS

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

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

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 47.5%±9.5Lowest MS: 51.3% 48.4%±10.8Highest 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 20.6%Lowest MS: 18.9% 28.6%Highest MS: 18.9%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 5.9%±2.9Highest MS: 5.9% 1.7%±1.4Lowest 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 23.1%Lowest 43.3%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 22.8 miHighest 18.8 miLowest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in BrookhavenFew work in Picayune

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 5.7%Highest 1.6%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 1.8 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 9Highest 3Lowest

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

Schools

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

School district Picayune School DistrictMS School Of The Arts · Brookhaven School District

High school in town Picayune Memorial High SchoolBrookhaven High School

Students per teacherat that high school 15.5Highest 12.0Lowest

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.

Picayune neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Picayune’s Town Square.

Brookhaven neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Brookhaven’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Picayune

+ Compare

Nicholson3,146 people · $97K homes

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Hide-A-Way Lake2,569 people · $195K homes

Towns like Picayune

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West Point9,900 people · $154K homes

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Columbia6,632 people · $132K homes

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Amory6,500 people · $162K homes

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Louisville5,983 people · $137K 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.

Picayune vs Brookhaven

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 Picayune and Brookhaven

Bordering Picayune

Towns like Picayune

Post to Picayune

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