Counties / Mississippi / Pearl River County

Pearl River County, MS

FIPS 28109 · population 57,458 · outside every metro area

$198k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$198k
▲ 3.6% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$906
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$949
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+42.2%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+3.6%FHFA HPI2025+0.5%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$182k
Surveyed gross rent$906
Rent burden 30%+47.9%
Median year built1990
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
14.0%vacant
25,442estimated housing units
Occupied tenure19.6% renter
owner 80.4%renter 19.6%
Structure mix72.4% single-family
Single-family 72.4%20+ units 0.6%Mobile home 18.2%Other 8.8%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs11,715▲ 0.7% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments1,042annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$820▲ 3.7% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities35.5% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS+0.7%WEEKLY WAGE+3.7%Trade, transportation, and utilities35.5%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Pearl River County presents a valuation-versus-cash-flow tension: the June 2026 Zillow county median home value was $198,420, up 3.57% year over year, whereas the 2025 FHFA repeat-transaction HPI increased 0.51%. The figures point in the same upward direction but not at the same speed. Because they have different vintages and methods, they cannot be combined into an appreciation rate. This warrants investigation by buyers who can verify property-level income and replacement risk; buyers reliant on immediate, demonstrable yield should be cautious.

02Housing economics

Measured market rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be computed from the record. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $949 per month is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate, and must not be substituted for rent. The effective property-tax rate is 0.65%, with median annual tax of $1,189; these county figures inform carrying-cost screening but not a parcel tax bill. Hurricane is the dominant hazard, and modeled expected annual climate loss equals 0.41% of building value. Insurance, flood-zone, elevation, deductibles, and property condition are not published, preventing a complete operating-cost assessment.

03Demand & competition

Tax-return moves show net migration of 241 households and an incoming-versus-outgoing average AGI gap of $5,413, a calculation from the migration records. This is a constructive composition signal, not proof that movers will rent or buy locally. Investors accounted for 33 of 598 purchases, or 5.52%; that participation does not identify cash buyers, property types, or investor disposition. QCEW reports covered employment at county workplaces rather than resident employment or unemployment; it can frame local payroll exposure but does not establish tenant demand. The largest disclosed private supersector is Trade, transportation, and utilities, not the entire economy.

04Risk & next checks

Realtor.com’s 222 active MLS listings and 73-day median marketing time describe visible asking-market supply and marketing time, not closed-sale pricing or buyer demand by themselves. Underwriting should obtain current market asking rents and achieved leases, parcel taxes and insurance or flood quotes, sale comparables, vacancy and repair needs, and hazard maps. Without those data, the record cannot support a gross-yield, net-cash-flow, resale-value, or property-specific climate-cost conclusion.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Pearl River County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Picayune city11.9KNicholson CDP3.1KPoplarville city2.8KHide-A-Way Lake CDP2.6KLumberton city*1.3K
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

5 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Picayune cityIncorporated place
    11,900
  2. 02
    Nicholson CDPCensus-designated place
    3,146
  3. 03
    Poplarville cityIncorporated place
    2,847
  4. 04
    Hide-A-Way Lake CDPCensus-designated place
    2,569
  5. 05
    Lumberton cityIncorporated place · spans 2 counties
    1,320

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardhurricane

0.408% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.65%

$1,189 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+241

1,306 in · 1,065 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$5,413

$53,381 arriving · $47,968 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors5.5%

33 of 598 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings222▼ 5.3% year over year
Median days on market73▲ 0.4% year over year
Listings price-reduced15.5%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▲ 3.7% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Unpublished market rent and operating expenses could reveal inadequate cash flow.
  2. Hurricane exposure and unreported insurance or flood costs could overwhelm county-level carrying-cost screens.
  3. County migration and MLS indicators may not represent the target neighborhood or property type.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from this record?

No. Market rent is not published, and HUD FMR cannot be used as market rent.

What does FHFA HPI measure here?

It is a repeat-transaction appreciation index, not a dollar home value.

What do the Realtor.com listing measures establish?

They establish visible MLS asking supply and marketing time, not closed sales or buyer demand.