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

DTupeloSafer than 9% of U.S. towns B+Long BeachSafer than 73% of U.S. towns

Schools

B+TupeloBetter than 74% of districts in the state A+Long BeachBetter than 96% of districts in the state

Health

C+TupeloHealthier than 45% of U.S. towns BLong BeachHealthier than 60% of U.S. towns

8Tupelo

14Long Beach

Lists won, of 23 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most trailsOutdoors · 64 towns #6#63 SafestSafety · 41 towns #38#5 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 32 towns #27#6 Most conserved landOutdoors · 94 towns #37#93 Most walkableOutdoors · 104 towns #70#19 Lowest depressionHealth · 104 towns #27#74 Highest graduation rateSchools · 93 towns #45#5 Shortest commuteGetting around · 104 towns #15#57

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

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $170 more a month in Long Beach

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%

Tupelo$1,270/mo

Typical home $215K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.78% · or rent about $976/mo · Housing →

Long Beach$1,430/mo

Typical home $239K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.91% · or rent about $1,215/mo · Housing →

The difference: $170 a month, about $2,000 a year, between Long Beach and Tupelo.

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.

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

TupeloLong Beach

Snow a year0″0″

January low—44°F

July high—90°F

Growing season (days)—300d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)45th 87th

Outdoors & history

TupeloLong Beach

Trails33 mi 1 mi

Conserved land4%0.1%

Settled1860 1905

National Register places20 1

Archive photos12 12

Famous people born here49 —

Community

TupeloLong Beach

Library hours a week57 hrs 44 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

272 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

TupeloMS Long BeachMS

Tupelo ↔ Long Beach272 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

TupeloLong Beach

People

Population 37,791Highest 17,009Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +9.8%Lowest +13.4%Highest

Median age 38.3±1.1Lowest about the MS average 39.6±1.8Highest about the MS average

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

Kids under 18 23.8%±1.9Lowest MS: 23.3% 24%±3.2Highest MS: 23.3%

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

Age 65+ 17%±1.4Lowest MS: 17.2% 20.2%±2.1Highest MS: 17.2%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 34.5%Lowest MS: 25.1% 35.6%Highest MS: 25.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5%±1Lowest MS: 6.1% 5.6%±1.5Highest MS: 6.1%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $66,257±$4kLowest 17% above MS $70,332±$8kHighest 25% above MS

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $212,800±$8kLowest 25% above MS $215,200±$11kHighest 27% above MS

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $976±$74Lowest about the MS average $1,215±$72Highest 27% above MS

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,651Lowest 36% above MS $1,963Highest 62% above MS

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 57.9%±7.6Highest MS: 51.3% 47.2%±9.2Lowest MS: 51.3%

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

Below poverty line 15.1%Highest MS: 18.9% 11.5%Lowest MS: 18.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 63.4%Lowest MS: 70% 65.7%Highest MS: 70%

Typical home builtmedian year 1981Lowest 5 yrs older than MS 1986Highest same as MS

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 18 minLowest 30% below MS 24 minHighest 8% below MS

Work from home 6%±1.8Lowest MS: 5.9% 7.1%±2.3Highest MS: 5.9%

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

Work in townworking residents 52.8%Highest 11.2%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 5.8 miLowest 9.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 2.48Highest 0.40Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Oxford (2%)Gulfport (33%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Long BeachFew work in Tupelo

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 4%Highest 0.1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 33.1 miHighest 1.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.5 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 9Highest 2Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 27.9Lowest 51.6Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #41 of 92 in MS #19 of 92 in MS

School district Tupelo Public School DistrictLong Beach School District

High school in town Tupelo High SchoolLong Beach High School

Students per teacherat that high school 13.9Highest 13.4Lowest

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.

Tupelo neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Tupelo’s Town Square.

Long Beach neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Long Beach’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Tupelo

+ Compare

Verona2,748 people · $118K homes

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Saltillo4,952 people · $205K homes

Towns like Tupelo

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Pearl27,737 people · $183K homes

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Southaven56,226 people · $236K homes

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Biloxi48,861 people · $225K homes

+ Compare

Clinton27,195 people · $226K 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.

Tupelo vs Long Beach

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Long Beach places higher on 14 of 23 MS lists

A typical home costs $170 more a month in Long Beach

What daily life feels like in each

272 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Tupelo and Long Beach

Bordering Tupelo

Towns like Tupelo

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