Harrison Co School Dist, MS

Original Research by School Decision on Harrison Co School Dist

Harrison County School District serves a stretch of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, drawing students from communities across the county including Gulfport, Biloxi, Diberville, Long Beach, Vancleave, Pass Christian, Saucier, and McHenry. The district is large by any measure, operating more than two dozen schools from kindergarten through twelfth grade, with two main high school campuses at Harrison Central and Diberville Senior High, plus West Harrison High. The school list also includes a child development center, a vocational complex, and an alternative school, which gives the district a wider programmatic footprint than a standard K-through-12 system.

The student body reflects the coastal county's makeup. White students make up the largest single group, with Black students forming the next largest, and smaller shares of Hispanic, Asian, multiracial, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. The district does not report free-or-reduced-price lunch counts, IEP rates, or English learner figures in the data available here, so those common indicators of economic need and specialized populations are gaps a parent would need to ask the district about directly.

On Mississippi's MAAP assessments, the district shows a clear pattern. Elementary math proficiency is solid in the early grades, with third and fourth grade both performing well, and sixth grade reaching the highest mark among the grades tested. Fifth grade math sits lower, and seventh and eighth grade drop further. The middle school math slide is the most consistent soft spot in the data. A parent may want to look into how the district supports students through that transition, particularly between fifth and seventh grade.

English language arts follows a related arc. Third, fourth, and fifth grade ELA proficiency is strong, with fifth grade the brightest spot. Sixth grade holds reasonably well. Seventh grade ELA drops sharply, the lowest proficiency rate in the entire data set across both subjects. Eighth grade recovers somewhat. This seventh-grade dip in both subjects stands out and is worth asking about when visiting schools or talking with administrators.

Science results, tested only in fifth and eighth grade, are the district's strongest academic signal. Both grades show high proficiency, suggesting the district's science instruction is landing well where it is measured.

The district has no graduation rate data in this profile, which limits the picture for families focused on high school outcomes. No civil-rights data, course-access information, staffing figures, or program offerings were available either. A parent researching high school pathways would need to go directly to the district or individual school websites for details on Advanced Placement, career and technical education through the vocational complex, dual credit, or other academic options. The vocational complex's presence in the school list suggests career-oriented programming exists, but the data here does not describe what it offers.

Housing across the district's zip codes runs from quite affordable in parts of Gulfport to more elevated values in Pass Christian and Biloxi. The weighted typical home value across the district sits below the national benchmark but above the state figure, which places the area in a moderate range for Mississippi. Rents are similarly moderate relative to national levels. The price-to-income ratio suggests buying is within reach for many local households compared with national norms, though current mortgage rates add pressure. Home values have been rising modestly year over year across most of the district's communities, with Pass Christian and McHenry seeing the sharpest appreciation.

The district brief searched for recent parent-relevant changes such as referendums, curriculum overhauls, or property tax shifts and found none to report. That means the portrait here is a snapshot of current performance and demographics rather than a window into ongoing shifts a family might be walking into.

Harrison County fits a family looking for a large, diverse district with solid elementary academics, strong science instruction, and a housing market that remains relatively accessible by national standards. The middle school years are where the data raises questions, and the gaps in graduation, program, and economic-need reporting mean a family will need to do some direct outreach to fill in the rest of the picture.

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District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

14,299

Grades

KG–12

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 8%

Black 34%

White 47%

Asian 2%

Two+ 8%

Am. Indian / AK Native 0%

Hawaiian / Pac. Isl. 0%

Schools in this District

24 schools are officially reported under this district.

BEL AIRE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

DIBERVILLE ELEM

DIBERVILLE SENIOR HIGH SCH

DIBERVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL

HARRISON CENTRAL ELEMENTARY

HARRISON CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

HARRISON CO CHILD DEVELOPMENT CEN

HARRISON CO VOC COMPLEX

LIZANA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

LYMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

ORANGE GROVE ELEMENTARY

PINEVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

SAUCIER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

WOOLMARKET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

THREE RIVERS ELEMENTARY

NORTH WOOLMARKET ELEMENTARY AND MID

WEST WORTHAM ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE

HARRISON COUNTY ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL

WEST HARRISON HIGH SCHOOL

CROSSROADS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

RIVER OAKS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

NORTH GULFPORT ELEMENTARY AND MIDDL

WEST HARRISON MIDDLE SCHOOL

CREEKBEND ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE

Academic Performance

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

Mathematics

6 grades reported

67%

Grade 3

68%

Grade 4

56%

Grade 5

69%

Grade 6

57%

Grade 7

54%

Grade 8

English Language Arts

6 grades reported

66%

Grade 3

65%

Grade 4

69%

Grade 5

61%

Grade 6

45%

Grade 7

57%

Grade 8

Science

2 grades reported

79%

Grade 5

71%

Grade 8

Housing & Real Estate

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

Home Values

Typical home value$244,736

Year-over-year change+1.8%

Range across 10 ZIP codes$117K to $305K

vs. state typical1.26x

vs. national typical0.66x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (10 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
39574	Saucier	$240K	+1.8%	46.4%
39503	Gulfport	$228K	+1.1%	24.4%
39532	Biloxi	$273K	+2.4%	15.0%
39571	Pass Christian	$305K	+3.2%	5.3%
39540	Diberville	$228K	+1.9%	2.5%
39565	Vancleave	$272K	+2.3%	2.3%
39573	Mc Henry	$228K	+3.1%	2.3%
39560	Long Beach	$236K	+0.9%	1.1%
39501	Gulfport	$117K	-1.7%	0.6%
39507	Gulfport	$211K	+1.4%	0.0%

Rental Market

Typical monthly rent$1,524/mo

Year-over-year change+4.0%

Range across 6 ZIP codes$1,103 to $1,629/mo

Rent trend (12 months)

ZIP code rents (6 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Rent/mo	YoY	Weight
39503	Gulfport	$1,629	+5.1%	24.4%
39532	Biloxi	$1,378	+1.8%	15.0%
39540	Diberville	$1,538	—	2.5%
39560	Long Beach	$1,378	+5.1%	1.1%
39501	Gulfport	$1,103	+8.7%	0.6%
39507	Gulfport	$1,406	+5.1%	0.0%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$1,235/mo

Home price / national median income2.9x

Annual rent / national median income21.8%

Rent exceeds est. mortgage by$289/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.