Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 2,016 residents, this town was settled in 1887.
The best of Kiln’s subject grades are a B+ for cost of living and schools; the weakest is a D− for walkability. Kiln’s age of the median resident is 56.1 years, above both Mississippi’s towns (37 years) and U.S. towns (40.5 years). On walkability, just 13 of Mississippi’s 186 towns do worse. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Holly Bluff on-the-Jordan is on the National Register of Historic Places. Kiln has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Kiln beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Kiln’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 Kiln is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,262 in 1990, 2,224 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1920 and 2 maps from 1959 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kiln is unincorporated, so Hancock County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Kiln.
Commuting out is the norm in Kiln: 9% of working residents work locally. Jobs based in Kiln grew to 2,545 in 2023, 1,576 more than in 2013. Its mean commuting time stands at 31 minutes. The top destinations are Gulfport (13%), Bay St. Louis (9%) and Picayune (5%).
| Kiln | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.5% | 19% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
44% of Kiln’s expected losses from natural hazards come from hurricanes, followed by inland flooding at 26%. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2026.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The share of adults in Kiln who get no exercise outside work: 32%. Of 31 CDC measures, Kiln beats the Mississippi average on 4 and trails it on 1. Only 10 of the 102 Mississippi towns we compare have a lower share of adults who feel lonely than Kiln. In Kiln, just over two in five adults have high blood pressure, and 34% sleep under 7 hours.
| Kiln | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 36% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 45% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 39% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 12% |
| What stands out | Kiln | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.4% | 11.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 15.6% | 22.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.8% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For Kiln, the peak summer temperature is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among 97 Mississippi towns, just 7 have a higher rent at the middle of the market than Kiln. In Kiln, 86% of households are owner-occupiers. Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Kiln | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 86% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,403 a month | $905 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Kiln; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Kiln residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Mississippi.
3 notable people were born in Kiln.
CDP in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States
Kiln is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States. The town is located about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Kiln had a population of 2,224.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
3 notable people were born here, including Leland Mitchell and Dick Arrington.
