Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 17,309, settled in 1884. Public schools that outperform most of Mississippi.
Trash day: MondayLong Beach's standout: its schools score near the top of Mississippi on tests and graduation. Overall it grades B, 17th of 99 graded towns in Mississippi. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 87% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. On cost of living, just 15 of Mississippi’s 184 towns do worse. Fort Massachusetts and W. J. Quarles House and Cottage is on the National Register of Historic Places. Only 2 of the 101 Mississippi towns we compare have a higher January low than Long Beach.
Where Long Beach beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Reeves Elementary | PK–3 | 453 |
| Quarles Elementary | PK–3 | 429 |
| Harper McCaughan Elementary | 4–6 | 622 |
14,792 counted in 2010 and 16,780 in 2020; an estimated 17,309 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Mississippi), ordered by how far Long Beach is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,026 in 1910, 16,780 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1826 and 4 maps from 1955 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Long Beach. Close and well known come first.
9 mi National SeashoreGulf Islands National Seashore7.6M visitors a year
12 mi MuseumJefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum
5 mi Zoo & aquariumMississippi Aquarium
18 mi MuseumOhr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art
36 mi MuseumOld Spanish Fort
18 mi MuseumMaritime & Seafood Industry MuseumGulf Islands National Seashore: National Park Service, Public domain · Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum: Woodlot, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mississippi Aquarium: Kaotate, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art: Woodlot, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Old Spanish Fort: Michelle Miller-Freeck/FEMA, Public domain · Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum: Woodlot, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Long Beach, 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 Long Beach.
Long Beach has schools in the top 5% of Mississippi, fares better on crime within Mississippi than nationally and has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns.
Its A+ ranks #1 of the 101 Mississippi towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Long Beach School District. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Long Beach High School, with 895 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harper McCaughan ElementaryLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 622 | A |
| Long Beach High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 895 | B |
| Long Beach Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 475 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
1,545 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 109 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 1,545 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Long Beach.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Long Beach for work: only 11% work in town. 12% of residents live below the poverty line in Long Beach, below the Mississippi town median (21%) and near the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Since 2013, Long Beach has lost 371 jobs, to 2,381 in 2023.
| Long Beach | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 20% | 8% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.1% | 5.3% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 11.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 91% of Mississippi’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
At 0.5 per 1,000 residents, Long Beach’s violent crime rate is below both Mississippi’s towns (2.3) and U.S. towns (1.6). The property crime rate in Long Beach is 7 per 1,000 residents.
| Long Beach | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7 per 1,000 residents | 17.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The median property tax bill is $1,963, against $1,215 across Mississippi, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Long Beach home is worth about $240,000, up 1.2% in a year, 23% above the Mississippi typical home. Long Beach’s median rent is $1,215 a month.
| Long Beach | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,215 a month | $900 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 62% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Gulfport Naval Ctr weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 300 days, longer than in 95% of U.S. towns. January nights average 42.6°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.3°.
Long Beach has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Among 101 Mississippi towns, just 6 have a lower July high than Long Beach. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 10,533 U.S. towns with household incomes like Long Beach’s, it is healthier than 75%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Within Mississippi it is healthier than 83% of the 101 graded towns: much of Mississippi scores lower on these measures.
Long Beach beats the Mississippi average on 18 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 33% of Long Beach adults have obesity. Among 101 Mississippi towns, just 10 have a lower share of adults who worry about having enough food than Long Beach.
| Long Beach | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 42% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 27% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 24% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 36% | 25% |
| What stands out | Long Beach | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.3% | 11.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 13% | 22.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.2% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Just 12 of its 8,922 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Long Beach itself; its outdoors grade is D.
1.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Among 87 Mississippi towns, just 6 have a lower share of conserved land than Long Beach.
| Long Beach | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.1% | 2.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Harper McCaughan Town Green Park | 0.4 mi | 4 |
| 2. War Memorial Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Long Beach; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Long Beach residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Mississippi.
Where Long Beach’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 notable people were born in Long Beach.
City in Mississippi, United States
Long Beach is a city located in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 15,829.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Long Beach.
| Town | MS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach | #17 | B | C | B+ | A+ | B |
| Gulfport | #59 | C− | C+ | — | B+ | D |
| Pass Christian | #24 | B− | C | B+ | A | B |
Gulfport reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Long Beach with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Long Beach grades B overall, better than 57% of U.S. towns and #17 of 99 in Mississippi. It grades B for health, B+ 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.
4 notable people were born here, including Thomas Hale Boggs, Sr. and Ted N. Branch.
