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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 39401

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At a glance

Schools

4,605

Students

Districts

Top rankedDixie Attendance Center64^th of 377 Mississippi elementary schools

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Biggest riser

North Forrest High School up 64 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

North Forrest High School 9.6 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

3 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

See the top-ranked Mississippi schools →

Summary:

Zip code 39401 (Hattiesburg, MS) has 11 schools serving about 4,605 students in grades PK-12. The schools are split between Hattiesburg Public Schools (7 schools) and the Forrest County School District (4 schools). The area serves a high-poverty population: 10 of 11 schools have at least 89% free or reduced lunch eligibility, and six are at or near 100%. Despite these challenges, student-teacher ratios are favorable, averaging about 12.6:1, with Forrest County schools running smaller ratios (9.6–11.9) than Hattiesburg elementary schools (15.8–16.6).

The strongest elementary school is Dixie Attendance Center, which ranks in the 83rd percentile of Mississippi elementary schools with exceptional 5th-grade test scores and the lowest poverty rate in the zip code at 66.5%. Also notable are Rowan Elementary and Woodley Elementary, both high-poverty success stories that rank in the top quartile. Rowan has the lowest chronic absenteeism in the zip (15.4%), and Woodley posted an 88.9% proficiency rate in 3rd-grade math. At the high school level, North Forrest High School made a dramatic jump to the 78th percentile and now outperforms Hattiesburg High School on nearly every metric, including Algebra I (80.3% vs. 67.6%), Biology (75.6% vs. 49.5%), and graduation rate (95.8% vs. 94.4%).

There are serious concerns as well. Earl Travillion Attendance Center ranks in the 18th percentile and has ELA proficiency rates as low as 16.6%, while Hawkins Elementary shows a bright spot in science (90.7% 5th-grade proficiency) despite very low math and reading scores. The data also shows an elementary-to-secondary drop-off: early grades show strong science and math performance across the Hattiesburg district, but middle and high school scores — especially at Hattiesburg STEAM Academy and Hattiesburg High School — fall below state averages. Chronic absenteeism is highest at Hattiesburg High School (28.5%) and N R Burger Middle (26.1%). Overall, the zip code's standout schools prove that high poverty does not prevent high achievement, but the wide gaps — including a 247-place ranking gap within the Forrest County district — show significant inequities.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MAAP English Language Arts (2026)						MAAP Mathematics (2026)						MAAP Algebra I (2026)	MAAP English II (2026)	MAAP Science (2026)		MAAP Biology (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAAP Algebra I End of Course	MAAP English II End of Course	MAAP Science 5th Grade	MAAP Science 8th Grade	MAAP Biology End of Course	Total
Dixie Attendance Center	Public	PK, KG-8	790 Elks Lake Road	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Forrest County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 582-4890	487	41	11.9	66.5%	265 (54.4%)	145 (29.8%)	37 (7.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	39 (8.0%)	79.3	64^th of 377 public elementary schools	83.0%		81.8	58^th of 383 public elementary schools	84.9%	6	63.8	66.7	83.4	42.9	42.0	55.8	60.9	70.6	81.2	53.0	68.0	58.2			87.5	58.1		$12,091
North Forrest Elementary School	Public	K-6	702 Eatonville Road	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Forrest County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 584-6466	209	19	10.8	92.3%	47 (22.5%)	133 (63.6%)	14 (6.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (7.2%)								(n/a)																		$15,890
North Forrest High School	Public	7-12	693 Eatonville Road	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Forrest County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 545-9304	349	36	9.6	90.0%	61 (17.5%)	220 (63.0%)	30 (8.6%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	35 (10.0%)	72.6	49^th of 224 public high schools	78.1%		53.8	113^th of 232 public high schools	51.3%	64					41.6	50.8					47.9	29.9	80.3	51.1		59.6	75.6	$16,773
Earl Travillion Attendance Center	Public	PK, KG-8	316 Travillion Drive	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Forrest County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 584-9303	261	27	9.7	96.9%	10 (3.8%)	183 (70.1%)	32 (12.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (13.8%)	23.4	311^th of 377 public elementary schools	17.5%		21.3	322^nd of 383 public elementary schools	15.9%	11	41.7	19.2	23.8	40.9	21.1	16.6	50.0	23.0	42.9	27.3	26.4	33.3			42.8	58.3		$13,805
Grace Christian Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2207 W 7th Street	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Hattiesburg	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 583-0662	367	22	16.3	100.0%	7 (1.9%)	320 (87.2%)	7 (1.9%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (7.6%)	64.6	122^nd of 377 public elementary schools	67.6%		66	129^th of 383 public elementary schools	66.3%	7	50.0	64.3	52.8				50.0	71.4	50.9						76.4			$12,446
Hattiesburg High School	Public	9-12	301 Hutchinson Ave	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Hattiesburg	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 544-0811	1,014	83	12.2	99.9%	11 (1.1%)	867 (85.5%)	90 (8.9%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (4.4%)	40.5	131^st of 224 public high schools	41.5%		39.9	145^th of 232 public high schools	37.5%	14													67.6	44.1			49.5	$15,291
Woodley Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2006 O Ferrell St	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Hattiesburg	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 583-8112	422	27	15.8	100.0%	43 (10.2%)	248 (58.8%)	112 (26.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.5%)	74	91^st of 377 public elementary schools	75.9%		74.5	85^th of 383 public elementary schools	77.8%	6	75.8	59.7	50.7				88.9	65.3	50.0						78.3			$11,339
N R Burger Middle	Public	7-8	174 Wsf Tatum Drive	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Hattiesburg	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 582-0536	525	50	10.4	100.0%	14 (2.7%)	424 (80.8%)	60 (11.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (5.1%)	56	109^th of 260 public middle schools	58.1%		57.9	114^th of 266 public middle schools	57.1%	5					37.4	35.0					50.0	59.9				56.7		$15,533
Lillie Burney Learning Center	Public, Alternative	1-12	901 Ida Ave	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Hattiesburg	No	No	No	No	(601) 584-6311	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Hattiesburg Steam Academy	Public	6	176 WSF Tatum Dr.	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Hattiesburg	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 582-5291	263	20	13.2	100.0%	10 (3.8%)	210 (79.8%)	27 (10.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (6.1%)								(n/a)				38.4						46.8								$17,689
Hawkins Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	901 Ida Ave.	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Hattiesburg	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 583-4311	283	23	12.3	99.6%	9 (3.2%)	175 (61.8%)	78 (27.6%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (6.4%)	36.3	244^th of 377 public elementary schools	35.3%		37.6	248^th of 383 public elementary schools	35.2%	4	22.9	40.6	58.1				25.0	37.6	27.9						90.7			$14,576
Rowan Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	500 Martin Luther King Drive	Hattiesburg	39401	Forrest County	Hattiesburg	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 583-0960	425	26	16.6	99.5%	1 (0.2%)	384 (90.4%)	21 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.5%)	77.8	72^nd of 377 public elementary schools	80.9%		72.7	97^th of 383 public elementary schools	74.7%	25	50.0	72.9	61.9				59.3	71.1	66.7						80.5			$12,825

Cities Near Zip Code 39401

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Hattiesburg	1.97 mi	21	67^th
Petal	6.04 mi	6	53^rd
Purvis	10.66 mi	6	46^th
Brooklyn	13.56 mi	2	32^nd
New Augusta	15.11 mi	4	83^rd

See the top MS Mississippi cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Mississippi Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.