Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Gautier grades D overall, 66th of 99 graded towns in Mississippi, mostly because of health. Residents are less healthy than 81% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What it does well: its public schools beat 65% of Mississippi towns on state tests and graduation. 24% of the land in Gautier is conserved, against 2.8% in Mississippi’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Only 5 of Mississippi’s 187 towns score lower on hazard risk. Gautier's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 94% of U.S. towns.
Where Gautier beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Gautier’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Mississippi), ordered by how far Gautier is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,087 in 1970, 19,024 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 3 maps from 1943 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Gautier. Close and well known come first.
7 mi National SeashoreGulf Islands National Seashore7.6M visitors a year
40 mi MuseumFort Morgan
6 mi MuseumOld Spanish Fort
19 mi MuseumJefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum40 mi LandmarkFort Bowyer
36 mi LandmarkFort GainesGulf Islands National Seashore: National Park Service, Public domain · Fort Morgan: Altairisfar, Public domain · Old Spanish Fort: Michelle Miller-Freeck/FEMA, Public domain · Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum: Woodlot, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Gaines: Altairisfar, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gautier, 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 Gautier.
Gautier fares better on crime within Mississippi than nationally and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Mississippi (mostly hurricanes).
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of Mississippi towns, with expected losses of about $570 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 745 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 120 properties have flooded more than once.
Gautier’s FEMA risk score is 94 of 100, where Mississippi’s towns sit at 58 of 100 and U.S. towns at 44 of 100. Since 1991, 745 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Gautier.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Pascagoula-Gautier School District. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Gautier High, with 900 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gautier MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 416 | A− |
| Gautier HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 900 | A− |
| Gautier ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 397 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
Within Mississippi it is healthier than 57% of the 101 graded towns: much of Mississippi scores lower on these measures.
46% of adults have high blood pressure in Gautier. Gautier tracks Mississippi closely on all 31 CDC measures. 43% of adults have obesity in Gautier.
| Gautier | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 45% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 42% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 36% | 25% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
6.7 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, at 1,794 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shepard State Park | 0.7 mi | 125 |
| 2. Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge | — | 1,794 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave Gautier for work: only 10% work in town. 18% of Gautier residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Gautier has added 261 jobs, to 3,946 in 2023.
| Gautier | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 20% | 8% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.6% | 5.3% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 30 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 55% of Mississippi’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 473 to 401 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Gautier is 18.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Gautier | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18.9 per 1,000 residents | 16.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 42.1°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.4°.
Gautier has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Gautier’s January low is 42°F. Only 8 of the 101 Mississippi towns we compare have a lower July high than Gautier.
| Gautier | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 42°F | 36°F | 22°F |
| July high | 89°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Mississippi average. 22% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 25% across Mississippi.
| Gautier | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 25% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 25% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| Median age | 37.9 years | 37 years | 40.5 years |
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.2 points). Across Mississippi, 51.5% of residents are women.
| Gautier | MS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.4% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.8% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.8% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.4% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.4% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.3% | 10.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.5% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 13.4% | 12.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.5% | 29.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 28.6% | 21.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.6% | 10.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.4% | 15.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.5% | 9.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Gautier home is worth about $191,000, down 0.9% in a year, close to the Mississippi typical home.
| Gautier | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 67% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,040 a month | $900 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Gautier; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Gautier residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Mississippi.
City in Mississippi, United States
Gautier ( GOH-SHAY) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, along the Gulf of Mexico west of Pascagoula. It is part of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Gautier had a population of 19,024. In 2002, Gautier had annexed land more than doubling its area. Gautier is a bedroom resort community surrounded by bayous and wetlands on three sides. The natural environment of Gautier offers many opportunities for recreation and eco-tourism. The Gulf Coast region, of which Gautier is a part, has been considered a relatively high growth area of the state; however, the loss of houses and jobs after Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, led to outmigratio…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Gautier.
| Town | MS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gautier | #66 | D | B− | C | B+ | C− |
| Vancleave | #15 | B | B | — | A | B |
| Ocean Springs | #12 | B+ | C− | — | A+ | A− |
Vancleave and Ocean Springs report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Gautier with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Gautier grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #66 of 99 in Mississippi. It grades C− for health, C for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
