Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Pascagoula earns a D, 79th among Mississippi's 99 graded towns, mostly because of safety and health. It reports more crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, including 91 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Residents are less healthy than 91% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also has a long history, with 38 places on the National Register. 43% of working residents work locally in Pascagoula, above both the Mississippi town median (19%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include U.s.s. Cairo and Old Spanish Fort. Only 15 of Mississippi’s 187 towns score lower on hazard risk.
Where Pascagoula beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Old Spanish Fort
Its founding year, 1718, comes before those of 98% of the Mississippi towns we grade with a known year. Its 36 National Register listings are more than in 94% of Mississippi towns with a listing.
Census counts: 480 in 1870, 22,010 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1757 and 4 maps from 1943 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Mississippi), ordered by how far Pascagoula is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pascagoula. Close and well known come first.
Big draw39 mi MuseumUSS Alabama
8 mi National SeashoreGulf Islands National Seashore7.6M visitors a year
in town MuseumOld Spanish Fort
33 mi MuseumFort Morgan
39 mi MuseumUSS Drum
39 mi MuseumBattleship Memorial ParkUSS Alabama: USN, Public domain · Gulf Islands National Seashore: National Park Service, Public domain · Old Spanish Fort: Michelle Miller-Freeck/FEMA, Public domain · Fort Morgan: Altairisfar, Public domain · USS Drum: Jean-Pierre Martin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Battleship Memorial Park: Rennett Stowe from USA, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pascagoula, 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 Pascagoula.
Pascagoula draws workers from Gautier and beyond, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Mississippi (mostly hurricanes) and has seen reported crime rise beyond ordinary swings.
8.7 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is I G Levy Memorial Park, at 51 acres.
| Pascagoula | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.6% | 2.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lighthouse Park | 0.8 mi | 11 |
| 2. Pascagoula Beach Park | 0.7 mi | 15 |
| 3. Pascagoula Beach Park Recreational Area | 0.6 mi | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Pascagoula-Gautier School District. Three of its 16 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| William M Colmer MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 532 | B |
| Pascagoula HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,127 | B+ |
| Beach ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 100 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
21,709 jobs are based in Pascagoula, 2.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 18.7 minutes, against 25.6 across Mississippi.
24% of residents live below the poverty line in Pascagoula. The top destinations are Gulfport (6%), Moss Point (5%) and Gautier (5%). Pascagoula’s average trip to work is 19 minutes.
| Pascagoula | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 24% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 3.4% | 5.4% | 11% |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes rose from 933 to 1,008 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Property crime runs at 42.9 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Mississippi rate, most of it theft.
The property crime rate in Pascagoula is 42.9 per 1,000 residents. Pascagoula reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 93% report less. The violent crime rate in Pascagoula is 4.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Pascagoula | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 42.9 per 1,000 residents | 16.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Within Mississippi it is less healthy than 59% of the 101 graded towns: much of Mississippi scores lower on these measures.
48% of Pascagoula adults have high blood pressure. Pascagoula beats the Mississippi average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 17% of Pascagoula adults have diabetes.
| Pascagoula | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 45% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 42% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 24% | 14% |
| What stands out | Pascagoula | MS |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 15% | 11.5% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 14% | 11.2% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 20.8% | 16.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of Mississippi towns, with expected losses of about $900 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 2,861 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 473 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 2,861 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Pascagoula. Only 10 of the 101 Mississippi towns we compare have a higher FEMA risk score than Pascagoula.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 2.3 years of the Gulfport metro’s $62K median household income, the typical home (about $141K) costs less against local pay than in 80% of Mississippi towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
The typical Pascagoula home is worth about $141,000, down 0.8% in a year, 27% below the Mississippi typical home.
| Pascagoula | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $894 a month | $909 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 42.9°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.3°.
Of the 101 Mississippi towns we compare, none has a higher January low than Pascagoula. Pascagoula has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Among 101 Mississippi towns, just 6 have a lower July high than Pascagoula.
| Pascagoula | 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
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Mississippi average. Pascagoula has lost 2.7% of its people since 2020, down to 21,409 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 22% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 25% across Mississippi.
| Pascagoula | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35.9 years | 37 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 25% | 24% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 25% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.9 points. Across Mississippi, 51.5% of residents are women. Median age: women 35.4, men 36.3.
| Pascagoula | MS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.7% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.3% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.7% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.1% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.5% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.1% | 10.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.7% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11% | 12.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.7% | 29.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.6% | 21.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13% | 10.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.5% | 15.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.2% | 9.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
None within 15 miles of Pascagoula; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Pascagoula residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Mississippi.
Where Pascagoula’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
36 places in Pascagoula on the National Register of Historic Places.
45 notable people were born in Pascagoula.
City in Mississippi, United States
Pascagoula ( PASS-kə-GOO-lə) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 22,010 at the 2020 census, down from 22,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area. The city is served by three airports: Mobile Regional Airport, 34 miles (55 km) to the northeast in Alabama; Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Pascagoula; and the Trent Lott International Airport, 9 miles (14 km) to the north in Jackson County. Amtrak service also began serving the city when the Mardi Gras Service debuted on August 18, 2025.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Pascagoula.
| Town | MS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pascagoula | #79 | D | B | D | B+ | D |
| Moss Point | #89 | D− | B | — | C− | D |
Moss Point reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Pascagoula with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Pascagoula grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #79 of 99 in Mississippi. It grades D for health, D for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 2.3 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 B.
45 notable people were born here, including Jimmy Buffett and Tony Dees.
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