Meridian, MS — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Mississippi·Meridian

Lauderdale County · Meridian · population 33,549

AffordabilityShrinking
Meridian, MS
Image: Wikipedia · Meridian, Mississippi
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
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46
Cooling
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Meridian stands

Population shrinking 1.1% per year.

Median home $112,872
1-year -0.2%
5-yr CAGR +2.3%
vs 5-yr peak -4.8%
Population -1.1%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-09$113k$83k$96k$110k$123k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
60/100
Workable for remote workers
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 6.9
Buy

At a 6.9 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Meridian on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 6.9 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
49 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
49 · w22%
Distance from peak
61 · w18%
Population growth
29 · w16%
Home 10-yr CAGR
31 · w10%
Long thesis

Meridian has held up across the cycle: home values at $112,872 with +2.3% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Meridian's population is shrinking 1.1% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.

About Meridian

Meridian is a city in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, with an estimated population of 33,549. The population has contracted 1.1% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Meridian is $112,872 as of 2026-04, down 0.2% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +2.3% annual growth (-4.8% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Meridian average $1,356 per month. The composite momentum score is 46 of 100 (Cooling). Buyers may find more room to negotiate; sellers should price realistically.

▲ Bull case

●Cheap entry point: $112,872 median home is well below the US median of $355k — room to grow without overpaying.
○The data is the data: Meridian has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●Net out-migration: population shrinking 1.1% per year — services, schools, and tax base will follow.
●Stagnant long-run trend: +0.8% 10-year CAGR plus flat population — appreciation case is weak.

About Meridian (Wikipedia)

Meridian is the eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area. Along major highways, the city is 93 mi (150 km) east of Jackson; 154 mi (248 km) southwest of Birmingham, Alabama; 202 mi (325 km) northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana; and 231 mi (372 km) southeast of Memphis, Tennessee.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Playbook

Buyer

You have leverage. Negotiate price, ask for closing-cost credits, and don't waive inspection. Walk-away power is real in a Cooling market — use it.

Seller

Price aggressively (at or below recent sold comps) or be prepared to wait. Concessions — rate buydowns, closing costs, repair credits — are how deals close right now.

Investor

Cap rates are more attractive than they were 12 months ago but the appreciation tailwind is gone. Confirm tenant demand, vacancy rates, and exit liquidity before committing capital.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Lauderdale County right now.

NWS active alerts (MS)Mississippi Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Lauderdale County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Meridian

Vicksburg, MS45 · CoolingHolly Springs, MS48 · StableLouisville, MS55 · StableCanton, MS57 · Stable

Run the numbers for Meridian

ToolCan I afford Meridian?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Meridian rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Meridian to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolMeridian cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

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

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
56° / 36°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
91° / 72°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
216
~59% of year
Annual precip
59″ rain
1″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very high
Tornado
Very high
Wildfire
Low
Earthquake
Low
Flood
High

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Meridian listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Meridian area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
75%
Very humid climate
Median household income
$52,700
Mississippi state median
Top industries (state-level)
ManufacturingHealthcareAgriculture

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

Cities similar to Meridian

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