Living in Sumrall, Mississippi: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.4% below the U.S. average in the Hattiesburg metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 10.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byMerit Health Wesley in Hattiesburg, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew Orleans is about 97 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 Sumrall 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

Boom town. The population is up 29% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

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: $206,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 19%Lamar County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $70,382U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 88%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,890 a yearMississippi: $1,215
Homes built before 1940: 13%U.S.: 12%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 87.6U.S. average = 100 (the Hattiesburg 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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Hattiesburg metro area, not Sumrall 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: 2,2992020: 1,777
Median age: 46.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 21%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 6%U.S.: 6%

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 (20%)
Work from home: 4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 4%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Merit Health Wesley, Hattiesburg, MS, about 12 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

3 public schools in Sumrall, run by Lamar County School District.

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 any internet subscription: 92%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: 34°F
July average high: 94°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 70 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 41 a year
Rain and melted snow: 61.4 inches a year
Snow: 1 inches a year
Elevation: 300 feet

Weather stations: Collins (16 miles away) and Sumrall (less than a mile away, rain and snow). 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

Merit Health WesleyEmergency room12

Jackson, MSCity of 141,00074

New Orleans, LAMetro of 1 million97

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: Merit Health Wesley, Jackson, New Orleans.

Lamar County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, 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.

Read about Sumrall's history on Wikipedia.

Know Sumrall?

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

West Hattiesburg, MS6,700 people, 12 miles
Hattiesburg, MS49,000 people, 15 miles
Collins, MS2,200 people, 16 miles
Petal, MS11,700 people, 19 miles
Columbia, MS6,500 people, 20 miles
Purvis, MS2,000 people, 20 miles

Smaller places

Rawls Springs, MS (unincorporated)1,499 people, 9 miles
Seminary, MS295 people, 10 miles
Arnold Line, MS (unincorporated)1,859 people, 11 miles
Oak Grove, MS (unincorporated)2,098 people, 12 miles
Bassfield, MS180 people, 13 miles
Glendale, MS (unincorporated)1,257 people, 14 miles

Sources

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.