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Long Beach, Mississippi

Long Beach is a suburb of about 17,300 people in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the Gulfport area. It has grown about 3% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.1 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, New Orleans, is about 51 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Gulfport

Population
17,309
up 3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$215,200
Harrison County prices up 12% since 2022
Household income
$70,332
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Gulfport area
90
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Gulfport, MS
To New Orleans
51 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10% below the U.S. average in the Gulfport-Biloxi metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood8 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.5 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 2 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMemorial Hospital at Gulfport in Gulfport, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 51 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Long Beach meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Long Beach runs into the built-up area around Gulfport (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$215,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 12%Harrison County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,215 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$70,332U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
66%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,963 a yearMississippi: $1,215
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
13%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
90U.S. average = 100 (the Gulfport-Biloxi metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 12% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Gulfport-Biloxi metro area, not Long Beach alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
17,3092020: 16,804
Median age
39.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
36%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (25%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (16%); retail (9%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, Gulfport, MS, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

5 public schools in Long Beach, run by Long Beach School Dist.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Mississippi's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
93%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
44°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
44 a year
Nights at or below freezing
13 a year
Rain and melted snow
68.2 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
28 feet

Weather station: Gulfport Naval Ctr (3 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, Gulfport, New Orleans.

Harrison County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Gulf Islands National Seashore8 miles
  • Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve57 miles

Read about Long Beach's history on Wikipedia.

Know Long Beach?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • DeLisle, MS (unincorporated)1,906 people, 7 miles
  • Henderson Point, MS (unincorporated)237 people, 8 miles
  • Lyman, MS (unincorporated)2,298 people, 11 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.