Living in Pascagoula, MS

Jackson County

Pascagoula is a real, genuinely distinct Mississippi Gulf Coast industrial city built on two major anchors: Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding yard, employing more than 11,000 people as Mississippi's largest manufacturing employer and building nearly 70% of the U.S. Navy's surface warship fleet, and Chevron's Pascagoula Refinery, a major Gulf Coast refinery processing approximately 369,000 barrels of crude daily. Ingalls' union workforce ratified a real, current new labor contract in March 2026 described as the largest single wage increase in company history, and the yard is now doing real, current 'Golden Fleet' design work on a new battleship class and frigate class for the Navy. Housing runs genuinely affordable (Zillow average $146,072, well below national medians), though this record discloses a real, disclosed population decline (-0.58%/year) and an effective property tax rate (~1.37%) running as the highest cited among Jackson County cities. Pascagoula also carries real, catastrophic Hurricane Katrina history -- approximately 90% of the city flooded in 2005 -- and First Street Foundation data cited this pass places nearly the entire city (99.8% of properties) at flood risk over a 30-year horizon, among the most flood-exposed cities in this project's dataset. Mississippi's real, current 4.0% flat income tax (phasing toward 0% by 2037) and full retirement-income exemption apply here as statewide.

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Housing

Median sale price$140,000

Taxes

Local effective property tax rate1.37%

Not independently sourced at the Jackson County level this session. Mississippi's top state income tax rate is 4.00%. See the Mississippi hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Pascagoula-specific.

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The tradeoffs

Pros

A genuinely substantial, real employer base anchored by Ingalls Shipbuilding (>11,000 jobs, Mississippi's largest manufacturing employer, real current Navy shipbuilding growth) and Chevron's major Gulf Coast refinery. Genuinely affordable housing (Zillow average $146,072) and rent (RentCafe average ~$1,034/month). A real, current city-led downtown/riverfront redevelopment effort. Mississippi's real, full retirement-income tax exemption benefits retirees.

Cons

A real, disclosed population decline (-0.58%/year). A genuinely elevated crime rate per NeighborhoodScout, among the highest cited within Mississippi this pass. An effective property tax rate (~1.37%) running as the highest cited among Jackson County cities. Real, catastrophic hurricane and flood exposure -- Katrina flooded ~90% of the city, and First Street Foundation cites nearly the entire city (99.8% of properties) as flood-exposed over 30 years, alongside a real, disclosed wide spread on homeowners-insurance cost this record does not resolve to one confident figure.

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits movers connected to Ingalls Shipbuilding or Chevron's refinery, and affordability- and low-tax-focused buyers and retirees drawn to genuinely below-national-median housing costs and Mississippi's full retirement-income tax exemption.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers who are highly flood/hurricane-risk-averse (First Street Foundation cites 99.8% of properties as flood-exposed over 30 years) or highly crime-sensitive without independently confirming current, address-specific crime data, nor for those requiring a confidently growing population market given Pascagoula's own disclosed decline.

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Last reviewed: 2026-08-28. Independent research; see individual metric entries above for source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.