Mississippi city guide
Moving From California to Hattiesburg, MS
Home to two universities and a regional hospital system, giving south Mississippi's steadiest mid-state economy outside the coast and the capital.
Housing comparison
California versus Hattiesburg, side by side
- Median home value
- $725,800
- $165,900
- Median annual property tax
- $5,114
- not available
- Median monthly cost, owners with a mortgage
- $2,844
- not available
- Population
- 39.0 million (state)
- 48,619
Figures are US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates for the city place. Property tax and monthly cost rows cover owner-occupied units with a mortgage, so they describe what current owners pay, not what a new buyer would pay at today's prices. California column is the statewide baseline used across this site.
Why Californians look at Hattiesburg
Hattiesburg sits at the crossroads of Interstate 59 and US 49 in south Mississippi, about 90 minutes from both the Gulf Coast and Jackson. That location, combined with two universities and a genuine regional hospital system, has made it the steadiest economic hub in the southern part of the state outside the coast itself.
The University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey University together bring a younger population, more rental housing, and more cultural programming than most Mississippi cities this size, while Forrest General Hospital gives the area a healthcare draw pulling patients and staff from a wide rural radius.
For a California buyer, Hattiesburg offers the lowest entry housing cost of the cities in this guide alongside a genuinely diversified local economy, at the cost of a smaller and less polished downtown than Oxford's.
Hattiesburg fits you if
- You want the lowest home prices in this guide alongside a diversified local economy.
- You want access to two universities and their cultural and athletic programming.
- You need a regional hospital system with broader specialty coverage than a single-town clinic.
- You want a central south Mississippi location within about 90 minutes of both the coast and Jackson.
Look elsewhere if
- You want a polished, tourist-ready downtown on the level of Oxford's square.
- You need a major hub airport nearby without a long drive.
- You want dense urban amenities. Hattiesburg is a mid-size regional center, not a metro.
- You are drawn only by university culture and do not want a broader working-class economic base mixed in.
Housing in Hattiesburg
Neighborhoods near both universities carry heavy student rental demand, while established areas like the Oaks and newer development toward the west side of town serve long-term owner-occupants.
The ACS median home value is $165,900, the lowest in this guide and well below the Mississippi statewide figure, reflecting the city's broad supply and a housing stock skewed toward smaller, older homes alongside newer subdivisions.
Because the market is not driven by a single dominant demand source the way Oxford's or Madison's are, buyers generally face less competition and a wider range of price points across neighborhoods.
Work and the local economy
The University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey University are major employers, and together with Forrest General Hospital and Forrest County they anchor a mixed economy rather than a single-employer town.
Beyond the anchors, Hattiesburg serves as a regional retail, logistics, and healthcare hub for a large swath of rural south Mississippi, drawing shoppers and patients well beyond the city limits.
That mix gives Hattiesburg more resilience than a single-industry town, though wages across most of these sectors remain modest, and a household relying on remote income will see the biggest benefit from the low cost of living here.
Climate and setting
Hattiesburg has a humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers and mild winters, closer to the Gulf Coast pattern than to north Mississippi's hill country.
Rainfall is heavy and spread through the year, and spring severe weather, including tornado risk, is a real seasonal concern, as it is across the rest of the state.
The city is far enough inland to avoid direct hurricane storm surge, but it still receives heavy rain and wind from Gulf storms that make landfall nearby.
Getting around, care, and schools
- Commercial air
- Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport (PIB) has limited scheduled service; Gulfport-Biloxi and Jackson airports, both about 90 minutes away, offer more options.
- Highways
- Interstate 59 and US Highway 49 cross in Hattiesburg.
- Hospital
- Forrest General Hospital, the region's largest referral hospital.
- Public schools
- Hattiesburg Public School District, with Lamar County and Petal districts nearby.
- Higher education
- University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey University.
- Setting
- South-central Mississippi, roughly 90 minutes from the Gulf Coast and from Jackson.
The trade-offs
- The commercial airport has limited service; most real travel options mean a 90 minute drive to Gulfport or Jackson.
- Downtown amenities are more modest than Oxford's, without the same tourism-driven polish.
- Wages in the dominant sectors, education, healthcare, and regional retail, are modest, which matters if you need local income rather than remote income.
- Spring severe weather and heavy year-round rainfall are a real adjustment for a California household.
Other Mississippi towns people compare
Oxford
A university town anchored by Ole Miss, with the state's most competitive housing market and its most active restaurant and arts scene.
Madison
A planned suburb north of Jackson with strict design codes, curbing sprawl, and the strongest public school reputation in the metro.
Ocean Springs
An arts-driven Gulf Coast town, walkable around its historic downtown, and set back enough from the beachfront to reduce storm exposure relative to the casino strip.
Starkville
Mississippi State University anchors a small, stable market with some of the lowest entry housing prices among the state's college towns.
Statewide figures, tax detail, and the full Mississippi picture are on the Mississippi page. Compare property, income, and sales tax across all 49 destination states on Taxes, and see where Californians are actually moving on Stats.
Sources
- US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25077 (median home value), retrieved via Census Reporter, September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25103 (median real estate taxes paid, owner-occupied units with a mortgage), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25088 (median selected monthly owner costs, owner-occupied units with a mortgage), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B01003 (total population), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- Census Reporter, Hattiesburg, MS profile, censusreporter.org.
- Forrest General Hospital, forrestgeneral.com.
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