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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 39429

New rankings! Mississippi test scores for the 2025-26 school year were just released — SchoolDigger posted updated rankings this week.

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At a glance

Schools

2,296

Students

Districts

Top rankedColumbia High School53^rd of 224 Mississippi high schools

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Biggest riser

East Marion Elementary School up 63 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

East Marion High School 10.4 students per teacher

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Newly ranked this year

East Marion Middle School

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

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

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Summary:

ZIP code 39429, serving the Columbia, MS area, contains 7 schools spanning elementary through high school and split between two districts: Columbia School District and Marion County School District. The two districts offer distinctly different experiences, with Columbia schools generally ranking higher across all grade levels.

At the top of the pack is Columbia High School, ranking 53rd of 224 high schools statewide with a 92.7% graduation rate and strong scores in Algebra I, Biology, and English II. Columbia Elementary School is the ZIP's top elementary, ranking in the 66th percentile with especially strong 3rd-grade math and very low chronic absenteeism of only 9.6%. Columbia Primary School provides a solid early foundation with small class sizes and low absenteeism, though no test scores are reported for its PK–2 students. On the other end, East Marion Middle School is the most struggling school in the area, ranking in the 20th percentile with proficiency rates below state averages in every subject. Jefferson Middle School sits near the middle of the pack, while East Marion Elementary School and East Marion High School show solid results despite high poverty levels.

Notably, high poverty does not automatically mean low performance: East Marion High School serves a 98.6% free/reduced-lunch population yet ranks in the 58th percentile and outperforms the state in Algebra I and Biology. Chronic absenteeism is a significant concern at upper grade levels, with Jefferson Middle School at 42.0% and Columbia High School at 35.0%, while elementary schools stay well below the state rate. There is also an equity gap in class sizes, as East Marion Elementary School has the highest poverty rate and the highest student-teacher ratio at 17.8. Encouragingly, multiple schools are improving significantly, including Columbia High School jumping from 138th to 53rd and East Marion High School moving from 141st to 93rd, making this an area with clear momentum and room for growth.

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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	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
Columbia Elementary School	Public	3-5	401 Mary Street	Columbia	39429	Marion County	Columbia School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 736-2362	378	29	13.1	73.8%	202 (53.4%)	152 (40.2%)	6 (1.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	16 (4.2%)	64	128^th of 377 public elementary schools	66.0%		60.3	155^th of 383 public elementary schools	59.5%	27	53.6	53.3	56.3				65.0	55.9	48.4						74.3			$11,740
Columbia High School	Public	9-12	1009 Broad Street	Columbia	39429	Marion County	Columbia School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 736-5334	484	35	13.7		229 (47.3%)	230 (47.5%)	12 (2.5%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.1%)	71.9	53^rd of 224 public high schools	76.3%		57.8	107^th of 232 public high schools	53.9%	54													77.1	53.2			73.9	$12,971
Columbia Primary School	Public	PK, KG-2	913 West Avenue	Columbia	39429	Marion County	Columbia School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 736-2216	448	35	12.9	70.1%	229 (51.1%)	181 (40.4%)	12 (2.7%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.1%)								(n/a)																		$12,412
Jefferson Middle School	Public	6-8	611 Owens Street	Columbia	39429	Marion County	Columbia School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 736-2786	329	27	12.0	72.0%	156 (47.4%)	148 (45.0%)	10 (3.0%)	4 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.3%)	47.2	131^st of 260 public middle schools	49.6%		51.4	127^th of 266 public middle schools	52.3%	4				37.4	37.4	40.5				44.8	49.6	45.0				55.0		$12,118
East Marion High School	Public	9-12	527 East Marion School Road	Columbia	39429	Marion County	Marion County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 736-3006	216	21	10.4	98.6%	38 (17.6%)	173 (80.1%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.4%)	58.9	93^rd of 224 public high schools	58.5%		41.5	139^th of 232 public high schools	40.1%	46													66.7	51.2			66.6	$20,015
Marion County Vocational Complex	Public	8-12	1140 Highway 13 South	Columbia	39429	Marion County	Marion County School District	No	No	No	No	(601) 736-6095	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
East Marion Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	527 East Marion School Road	Columbia	39429	Marion County	Marion County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(601) 736-7290	298	17	17.8	99.0%	82 (27.5%)	190 (63.8%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (7.7%)	41.3	225^th of 377 public elementary schools	40.3%		27.5	288^th of 383 public elementary schools	24.8%	63	36.1	38.2	48.6				38.3	58.1	37.8						72.9			$12,929
East Marion Middle School	Public	6-8	527 East Marion School Road	Columbia	39429	Marion County	Marion County School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(601) 731-7936	143	9	15.1	97.9%	37 (25.9%)	96 (67.1%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (6.3%)	24	207^th of 260 public middle schools	20.4%					(n/a)				30.5	27.5	27.2				39.1	32.5	29.6				47.7
Marion County Alt School	Public, Alternative	1-12	2 W Marion St.	Columbia	39429	Marion County	Marion County School District	No	No	No	No	(601) 736-7290	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Cities Near Zip Code 39429

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Columbia	0.15 mi	9	86^th
Foxworth	2.8 mi	3	64^th
Tylertown	16.08 mi	6	110^th
Bassfield	17.11 mi	2	127^th
Lumberton	18.39 mi	3	135^th

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.