Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Mississippi.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades C−, ranked 46th of 99 in Mississippi. Its public schools beat 77% of Mississippi towns on state tests and graduation. Its weakest subject is incomes: the median household income is $67K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line. Bay St. Louis’ age of the median resident is 53.3 years, above both Mississippi’s towns (37 years) and U.S. towns (40.5 years). On cost of living, just 18 of Mississippi’s 184 towns do worse. Bay St. Louis has 7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Old Bay St. Louis Historic District and Beach Boulevard Historic District.
Where Bay St. Louis beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| North Bay Elementary | 3–6 | 348 |
| Holy Trinity Catholic School | PK–6 | 283 |
| Bay Waveland Middle School | 6–8 | 365 |
Census counts: 1,978 in 1880, 9,284 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1901 and 3 maps from 1956 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Mississippi), ordered by how far Bay St. Louis is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bay St. Louis, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Bay St. Louis.
Bay St. Louis sends many workers across the state line to New Orleans and fares better on crime within Mississippi than nationally, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Mississippi (mostly hurricanes).
The biggest park or preserve is Bay Saint Louis Sports Complex, at 28 acres. Count the trails in 5 parks and preserves and they come to 6.9 miles. Bay St. Louis’ concentration of trails comes in at 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Bay St. Louis | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 4.8% | 2.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bay Saint Louis Sports Complex | 0.5 mi | 28 |
| 2. Commagere Park | — | 23 |
| 3. McDonald Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The largest public high school is Bay High School, with 491 students. Public schools: the Bay Waveland School District. Three of the 6 schools are below, and why each made the list.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Waveland Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 365 | A− |
| Bay High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 491 | B+ |
| North Bay ElementaryTop results in townGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 348 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of Mississippi towns, with expected losses of about $970 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 1,392 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 178 properties have flooded more than once.
Only 10 of the 101 Mississippi towns we compare have a higher natural-hazard score from FEMA than Bay St. Louis. Since 1978, 1,392 flood insurance claims have been paid out here. FEMA puts 46% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to hurricanes, and 24% to coastal flooding. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 12 declared disasters, most recently in 2026.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 27.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 52% of Mississippi’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 327 to 219 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In Bay St. Louis, the rate of thefts and burglaries is 19.1 per 1,000 residents. Bay St. Louis’ rate of reported violence stands at 1.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Bay St. Louis | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19.1 per 1,000 residents | 16.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical value, about $240K, is 7% below its August 2022 peak. The median property tax bill is $1,976, against $1,215 across Mississippi, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Homes sold in Bay St. Louis spent a median 173 days on the market. Home values are down 1.3% over the year to September 2026. Bay St. Louis’ going rate for rent is $1,179 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 42.5°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.3°.
The January low for Bay St. Louis comes to 43°F. Among 101 Mississippi towns, just 6 have a lower typical July afternoon high than Bay St. Louis. It almost never snows.
| Bay St. Louis | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 43°F | 36°F | 22°F |
| July high | 89°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
21% of working residents cross a state line to work, New Orleans among the top destinations. Bay St. Louis has about as many jobs (3,784) as working residents, but only 639 people both live and work here.
For most workers, Bay St. Louis is a place to come home to: only 19% work in town. Bay St. Louis: 15% of residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Gulfport (13%), Waveland (5%) and Biloxi (5%). The mean commuting time locally is 27 minutes.
| Bay St. Louis | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 20% | 8% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Mississippi it is healthier than 69% of the 101 graded towns: much of Mississippi scores lower on these measures. Its widest gap with Mississippi is utility shut-off threats: 7% of its 7,586 adults were threatened with a utility shut-off, against 11.2% statewide.
Among adults in Bay St. Louis, 15% report frequent mental distress. Against the Mississippi average, Bay St. Louis comes out ahead on 10 CDC measures out of 31, and behind on 1.
| Bay St. Louis | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 37% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 39% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 36% | 25% |
| What stands out | Bay St. Louis | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7% | 11.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 14.2% | 22.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Bay St. Louis; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Bay St. Louis residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Mississippi.
Coastal flooding makes up 24% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
8 notable people were born in Bay St. Louis.
City in Mississippi, United States
Bay St. Louis is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Mississippi, in the United States. Located on the Gulf Coast on the west side of the Bay of St. Louis, it is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area. The population was 9,284 at the 2020 census, up from 9,260 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Bay St. Louis.
| Town | MS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bay St. Louis | #46 | C− | C | C | A− | C+ |
| Waveland | #38 | C | C+ | C+ | A− | C |
| Diamondhead | #25 | B− | C+ | — | B+ | B+ |
Diamondhead reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Bay St. Louis with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bay St. Louis grades C− overall, better than 22% of U.S. towns and #46 of 99 in Mississippi. It grades C+ for health, C for safety and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($62,418 across the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
8 notable people were born here, including Richmond Barthé and Tolu Smith.
