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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 39702

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Mississippi rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

2,790

Students

Districts

Top rankedNew Hope High School77^th of 224 Mississippi high schools

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Biggest riser

Columbus High School up 14 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Columbus High School 11.6 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

1★

0★

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

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Summary:

ZIP code 39702 in Columbus, Mississippi, is served by six schools across two districts: three elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools, enrolling about 3,981 students. The Lowndes County School District operates New Hope Elementary, New Hope Middle School, and New Hope High School, while the Columbus Municipal School District operates Sale Elementary School, Fairview Elementary School, and Columbus High School. These two districts sit side by side geographically but produce very different outcomes.

New Hope High School is the top high school here, earning a 66th percentile state rank, a 93.2% graduation rate, and strong Biology proficiency. New Hope Middle School stands out for exceptional Algebra I results, with 93.4% proficiency versus 66.0% statewide. New Hope Elementary is the strongest elementary option in the ZIP code and the largest school, enrolling 1,191 students. By contrast, Columbus High School ranks in the bottom 7% of Mississippi high schools, and both Sale Elementary School and Fairview Elementary School rank near the bottom of the state’s elementary schools.

Poverty differences are stark: Sale Elementary School has a 100% free/reduced lunch rate, while the New Hope schools range from 62% to 68%. Test scores closely track this divide, with Columbus High School posting 31.1% Algebra I proficiency versus 67.3% at New Hope High School. Chronic absenteeism is high at both New Hope Middle School (33.8%) and New Hope High School (30.9%), yet they still perform well academically, while Columbus High School has 40.7% absenteeism and much lower scores. Sale Elementary School has surprisingly low absenteeism at 10.9% despite high poverty and low proficiency, pointing to systemic challenges beyond attendance. Overall, the district boundary is the single biggest predictor of school performance in 39702.

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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 6th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAAP Mathematics 4th 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 8th Grade	MAAP Biology End of Course	Total
Columbus High School	Public	9-12	215 Hemlock St	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7200	865	74	11.6	99.8%	18 (2.1%)	813 (94.0%)	23 (2.7%)	7 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.5%)	10.8	208^th of 224 public high schools	7.1%		6.2	222^nd of 232 public high schools	4.3%	14											31.1	23.0		47.1	$13,613
Fairview Elementary School	Public	K-4	225 Airline Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7140	244	16	15.4	99.6%	2 (0.8%)	239 (98.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.2%)	13.3	339^th of 377 public elementary schools	10.1%		18.9	332^nd of 383 public elementary schools	13.3%	7	32.4	20.6				27.0	23.5								$12,216
Sale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	520 Warpath Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7260	290	18	16.4	100.0%	7 (2.4%)	271 (93.4%)	6 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.1%)	13.7	335^th of 377 public elementary schools	11.1%		27.6	287^th of 383 public elementary schools	25.1%	48	23.0	17.8				29.2	33.4								$12,394
McKellar Vocational Center	Public	8-12	810 N Browder Street	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7290	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
New Hope High School	Public	9-12	2920 New Hope Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 244-4701	787	61	12.8	61.6%	394 (50.1%)	357 (45.4%)	10 (1.3%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)	19 (2.4%)	64.5	77^th of 224 public high schools	65.6%		70.3	73^rd of 232 public high schools	68.5%	4											67.3	50.5		75.4	$12,236
New Hope Middle School	Public	6-8	3419 New Hope Rd	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 244-4740	604	46	13.1	68.5%	307 (50.8%)	258 (42.7%)	11 (1.8%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.0%)	54.9	115^th of 263 public middle schools	56.3%		56.6	119^th of 266 public middle schools	55.3%	4			53.4	30.7	35.6			53.5	63.2	46.1	93.4		55.9		$11,280
Lowndes County Alternative School	Public, Alternative	1-12	3419 New Hope Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 244-5060	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Lowndes County Vocational Complex	Public	8-12	1085 Lehmberg Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 244-5038	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
New Hope Lower Elementary	Public	PK, KG-2	199 Enlow Drive	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(662) 244-4760	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
New Hope Upper Elementary	Public	3-5	462 Center Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(662) 244-4780	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Cities Near Zip Code 39702

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Columbus	1.53 mi	18	168^th
Caledonia	16.47 mi	3	15^th
West Point	19.52 mi	15
Brooksville	19.76 mi	1
Hamilton	21.3 mi	1

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.