Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Mississippi.
Waveland grades C overall, ranked 38th of 99 in Mississippi, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools rank ahead of 77% of Mississippi towns. On the other side, FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Waveland Elementary School is on the National Register of Historic Places. Only 8 of the 101 Mississippi towns we compare have a higher average trip to work than Waveland. The biggest park or preserve is Buccaneer State Park, at 391 acres.
Where Waveland beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Waveland Elementary School | PK–2 | 460 |
6,435 counted in 2010 and 7,210 in 2020; an estimated 7,042 in 2025.
Since 2020 the trend has turned: down 2.3%, after 12% growth in the decade before.
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 Waveland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 328 in 1890, 7,210 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1936 and a map from 1982 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waveland, 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 Waveland.
Waveland 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 83% of Mississippi towns, with expected losses of about $438 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on. 1,418 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 43 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 1,418 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Waveland.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Bay Waveland School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waveland Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 460 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
The average commute for its 2,727 working residents takes 33 minutes, against 25.6 across Mississippi.
Most working residents leave Waveland for work: only 8% work in town. 11% of residents live below the poverty line in Waveland, against 21% in Mississippi’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Waveland’s median household income is $69,000.
| Waveland | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 7.8% | 20% | 8% |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.2% | 5.3% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Mississippi it is healthier than 60% of the 101 graded towns: much of Mississippi scores lower on these measures.
Waveland beats the Mississippi average on 6 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 32% of adults get no exercise outside work in Waveland, below the Mississippi town median (36%) but above the median of U.S. towns (25%). 42% of adults have high blood pressure in Waveland.
| Waveland | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 36% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 45% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 27% | 19% |
| What stands out | Waveland | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.8% | 18.5% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 18.2% | 22.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.5% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 42°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.7°.
Waveland has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The January low in Waveland is 42°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Waveland | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 42°F | 36°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Waveland home is worth about $221,000, up 1.5% in a year, 13% above the Mississippi typical home. 61% of Waveland households own their home.
| Waveland | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $927 a month | $900 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 22.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 57% of Mississippi’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Buccaneer State Park | — | 391 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Mississippi average. Waveland has lost 2.3% of its people since 2020, down to 7,042 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 25% across Mississippi.
| Waveland | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 17% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 24% | 22% |
| Median age | 40.7 years | 37 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 25% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.5 points. Across Mississippi, 51.5% of residents are women.
| Waveland | MS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.1% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.2% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.4% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.3% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.3% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.4% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15% | 10.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.2% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.3% | 12.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.5% | 29.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 29.1% | 21.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.5% | 10.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.2% | 15.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.4% | 9.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
None within 15 miles of Waveland; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Waveland residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Mississippi.
Where Waveland’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Mississippi, US
Waveland is a city located in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city of Waveland was incorporated in 1972. As of the 2020 census, Waveland had a population of 7,210. Waveland was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Camille on August 17, 1969, and by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Waveland.
| Town | MS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waveland | #38 | C | C+ | C+ | A− | C |
| Bay St. Louis | #46 | C− | C | C | A− | C+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Waveland grades C overall, better than 27% of U.S. towns and #38 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 3.5 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+.