Hancock Co School Dist, MS

Original Research by School Decision on Hancock Co School Dist

Hancock County School District serves the southern Mississippi coast, covering a stretch of small communities across Hancock County from Pearlington in the west to the Kiln and Bay Saint Louis area. The district operates seven schools: four elementary campuses spread across the county, one middle school, one high school, and a career technical center. It is a mid-sized district for this part of the state, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across grade levels and a senior class that narrows somewhat from the earlier grades, which is common in rural and semi-rural districts. The student population is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, multirace, Native American, Asian, and Pacific Islander students. The district did not report free-or-reduced-price lunch counts, special-education rates, or English-learner figures in the data we reviewed, so we cannot characterize the economic makeup or the share of students receiving specialized services from what is available.

On state assessments, Hancock County shows real strengths in the elementary grades, particularly in math and science. Third and fourth graders posted strong math proficiency, and fifth-grade science stood out as a high point, with most tested students reaching proficient or above. Math proficiency in the upper elementary and middle grades remained solid, dipping somewhat in eighth grade but holding above the midpoint one would expect for a district of this type in Mississippi. Science in eighth grade was also strong. These results suggest the district is doing well building foundational skills, especially in numeracy and science, during the elementary years.

English language arts is more mixed. Third through fifth grade proficiency was steady and respectable, but results dropped noticeably in sixth grade and fell further in seventh grade before recovering partway in eighth. The seventh-grade ELA result is the weakest point in the district's assessment profile. A parent of a middle-school-bound child may want to look into this further with the school, asking how reading and writing instruction is sequenced across the transition from elementary to middle and what supports are in place for students who arrive behind grade level. The district does not report high school end-of-course or graduation data in the materials we reviewed, so we cannot speak to those outcomes one way or the other.

The housing market across the district's communities is affordable relative to both Mississippi and national benchmarks. Home values vary meaningfully by town. Pass Christian carries the highest values in the area, while Pearlington sits at the lower end. Bay Saint Louis, the Kiln, and Carriere fall in between, with modest year-over-year appreciation in most of those communities. A few areas, including Bay Saint Louis and Waveland, saw slight declines. Rental data was available only for the Bay Saint Louis zip code, where rents are moderate and well below the estimated monthly mortgage cost for a typical area home, meaning ownership here requires a higher monthly outlay than renting. With mortgage rates near where they are nationally, the price-to-income ratio for the area sits below the national figure, pointing to a market that remains within reach for many working families compared to much of the country.

The district includes a dedicated career technical center, which broadens the pathway for high school students beyond a traditional academic track. We did not find data on specific course offerings, Advanced Placement availability, dual-credit partnerships, or career certification programs, so a parent interested in those options should contact the district directly. The same applies to staffing ratios, discipline data, and attendance figures, none of which were reported in the materials we reviewed.

We searched for recent parent-relevant district changes such as referendums, property tax shifts, or curriculum updates and found no publicly reported evidence of any in the period covered. The district appears to be operating on a steady footing without major structural or policy shifts on the public record.

Hancock County is a district with strong elementary and middle-grade math and science results, an ELA pattern that weakens in the middle grades, an affordable housing market across a set of varied coastal and inland communities, and a career technical option for older students. Families looking for a small-town or coastal setting with decent academic foundations in the early grades will find much to work with here, and those with children entering middle school would do well to ask targeted questions about literacy instruction and support.

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District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

4,011

Grades

PK–12

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 2%

Black 8%

White 84%

Asian 1%

Two+ 5%

Am. Indian / AK Native 1%

Hawaiian / Pac. Isl. 0%

Schools in this District

7 schools are officially reported under this district.

SOUTH HANCOCK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

HANCOCK NORTH CENTRAL ELEMENTARY

EAST HANCOCK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

HANCOCK HIGH SCHOOL

HANCOCK COUNTY CAREER TECHNICAL CEN

HANCOCK MIDDLE SCHOOL

WEST HANCOCK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Academic Performance

Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards, by grade.

Mathematics

6 grades reported

72%

Grade 3

71%

Grade 4

64%

Grade 5

61%

Grade 6

68%

Grade 7

59%

Grade 8

English Language Arts

6 grades reported

63%

Grade 3

63%

Grade 4

64%

Grade 5

53%

Grade 6

41%

Grade 7

50%

Grade 8

Science

2 grades reported

84%

Grade 5

71%

Grade 8

Housing & Real Estate

Data as of April 2026 | District-weighted from constituent ZIP codes

Home Values

Typical home value$228,714

Year-over-year change+1.6%

Range across 10 ZIP codes$157K to $305K

vs. state typical1.18x

vs. national typical0.62x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (10 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
39556	Kiln	$234K	+3.3%	30.4%
39520	Bay Saint Louis	$239K	-3.0%	25.0%
39573	Mc Henry	$228K	+3.1%	13.9%
39466	Picayune	$196K	+3.5%	12.8%
39426	Carriere	$256K	+5.3%	5.6%
39572	Pearlington	$157K	-0.2%	3.2%
39525	Diamondhead	$247K	+0.5%	3.1%
39470	Poplarville	$199K	+2.9%	1.4%
39571	Pass Christian	$305K	+3.2%	1.1%
39576	Waveland	$214K	-1.4%	0.1%

Rental Market

Typical monthly rent$1,337/mo

ZIP code rents (1 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Rent/mo	YoY	Weight
39520	Bay Saint Louis	$1,337	—	25.0%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$1,154/mo

Home price / national median income2.7x

Annual rent / national median income19.2%

Rent exceeds est. mortgage by$183/mo

Comparison

State typical home value$194,242 (+1.1% YoY)

National typical home value$368,198 (+0.6% YoY)

State ZHVI trend (12 months)

National ZHVI trend (12 months)

Economic Context

30-year fixed mortgage rate6.48%

National unemployment rate4.3%

National median household income$83,730

CPI: Rent of shelter (index)447.05

30-year fixed mortgage rate (12 months)

National unemployment rate (12 months)

National median household income (12 months)

CPI: Rent of shelter (index) (12 months)

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index (Zillow Group), Realtor.com via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED)

Data Currently Unavailable

Civil Rights Data (CRDC)

This profile is derived exclusively from publicly available federal and state datasets. It may not reflect the most current information available. We encourage parents and families to supplement this data with information published directly on the school’s website, which may include more recent figures, additional programs, or updated enrollment data.