Cost of living in Brookhaven, MS — Housing, Rent & Index

Housing, rent, and a comparison to the US average.

$162,969
Median home value
/mo
Median rent
46
Cost index (US=100)
-2.7%
Home YoY change

The median home value in Brookhaven, MS is $162,969 as of 2026-04. That places Brookhaven below the US average for housing cost, with a cost index of approximately 46 versus a national baseline of 100.

Over the past 12 months, the median home value in Brookhaven has fallen 2.7%, and over the past five years it has averaged +0.6% annual growth. The current price sits -9.2% from its 5-year peak in 2022-08.

Beyond housing, day-to-day costs in Brookhaven are shaped by state and local taxes, utility rates, transportation, and groceries. This page focuses on the housing component, which is the largest single line in most household budgets and the easiest to compare across cities using consistent national data.

Housing

Median home value$162,969
1-year change-2.7%
5-year price growth+0.6%
10-year price growth+3.0%
vs 5-year peak-9.2%

Source: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI).

How Brookhaven compares

Cost index46 (below US)
Median home vs US (~$355k)-54.1%
Population11,654
Momentum score42 (Cooling)

Cost index is currently a housing-only proxy; full BLS basket coming with ACS pull.

Affordability reality

Prices only mean something against local pay. Here’s how Brookhaven’s housing lines up with what people here actually earn.

Median rent vs income26% of local median income
Home price-to-income4.4× local median income

At $782/mo, rent eats about 26% of the local median household income of $36,685 — within the 30% rule of thumb for affordable housing.

The median home runs about 4.4× the local median income (stretched).

Daily life in Brookhaven

Climate

91°/72° summer56°/36° winter216 sunny days1″ snow/yr59″ rain/yr

Summers run warm (highs near 91°F) and winters are moderate (highs near 56°F), with about 1″ of snow a year.

Natural-hazard & insurance risk

Flood: highTornado: very highHurricane: very highWildfire: lowEarthquake: low

Insurance heads-up: in Brookhaven, flood damage isn’t covered by standard home insurance — budget for a separate NFIP/private flood policy and check the FEMA flood zone for the exact address.

Getting around

The average commute is 20 min — shorter than the US average of ~27 min; 2% of workers are remote; 54% own their home.

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.