The 7 Best Coastal Towns to Retire In Mississippi
Mississippi's coast runs about 62 miles, and the towns here spread from the Bay of St. Louis east to the Pascagoula River, with many of them well suited to retirees. The town of Gautier's Singing River draws kayakers who slip past herons and the occasional dolphin. Up the bay in Diamondhead, close to a third of residents are already 65 or older. Ocean Springs builds its downtown around art, live oak shade, and the bayfront. The seven towns listed below earn attention for what sits behind the view: prices set against the state median, a hospital within reach, and a clear read on storm season.
Bay St. Louis
Old Town Bay St. Louis runs on foot. Galleries, antique shops, and cafes line the blocks above the beach. The restored L&N Train Depot holds the Hancock County Tourism office and a small Mardi Gras museum. On the second Saturday of each month, the Old Town Artwalk fills the sidewalks, making it a good way to explore the local art scene. The waterfront here is the shallow, gentle edge of the Bay of St. Louis, with the Bay St. Louis Harbor and its fishing platforms set right in Old Town. Healthcare sits close as well: Ochsner Medical Center - Hancock in Bay St. Louis runs a 24-hour emergency room and cardiac care within the city. The trade-off is price. The typical home runs near $230,000 in 2026, above Mississippi's figure of about $173,000, since the walkable blocks and the beach carry a premium. Property taxes stay low, and homeowners 65 and older drop the first $75,000 of home value off the rolls. Bay St. Louis fits retirees who want an arts-minded downtown with the water two blocks away.
Diamondhead
Diamondhead skews older than any town on this list, with close to a third of residents already 65 or older. The town was built for this. A resort developer laid it out in the 1970s on the highest ground on the Mississippi coast, roughly 100 feet above sea level. That elevation gives it more flood resilience than the beachfront towns. The Bay of St. Louis forms the southern edge, and The Club at Diamondhead runs a marina straight out to it. The Club also keeps two championship golf courses and an indoor and outdoor golf academy. The property owners' association maintains pools, walking paths, and the marina for residents. Homes here sit near $247,000 in 2026, above the state's $173,000, with waterfront and golf-course lots higher still. For care, Ochsner Medical Center - Hancock in Bay St. Louis is about 11 miles south, and Memorial Hospital at Gulfport is a longer drive east. Diamondhead suits retirees who want golf, a boat slip, and ground above the surge.
Pass Christian
The harbor is the heart of Pass Christian. Shrimp boats work out of the municipal harbor, and the oyster reefs offshore gave the town its first economy three centuries ago. The Pass sits on a peninsula, with the Mississippi Sound on its south side and the Bay of St. Louis to the west. Scenic Drive traces the shore past live oaks and the historic homes that survived the storms. War Memorial Park gives the beachfront a green stretch for walking. This is the smallest town here, home to about 5,700 residents, and also the priciest. Home values reach near $300,000 in 2026, the highest on this list and above the state average, the cost of beachfront history. No hospital sits in town, so residents rely on Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, about 10 miles east. Errands center on a short downtown, where Pass Christian Books and the Saturday morning market draw a regular crowd. Pass Christian rewards retirees who want a small harbor town and will pay for the oaks and the shore.
Long Beach
The Friendship Oak has stood on the Gulf Park campus for roughly 500 years, its limbs low enough to walk under. The University of Southern Mississippi keeps the tree and a small campus on the Long Beach shore. The town itself stays residential and low-key, with the Mississippi Sound along US 90 and a small-craft harbor for the shrimp and charter boats. The Town Green hosts a weekly farmers market and a classic-car cruise. Long Beach lands in the middle on price. The typical home goes for near $219,000 in 2026, a step above the state but below its pricier neighbors. Healthcare is the strong suit. Memorial Hospital at Gulfport sits about five miles east, and a Memorial clinic operates in town for routine visits.
Ocean Springs
Front Beach gives Ocean Springs a shallow, gentle shoreline on Biloxi Bay, with the harbor pier reaching out toward the shrimp boats. A few blocks inland, Washington Avenue carries the downtown of galleries and restaurants. The Walter Anderson Museum of Art holds the center, built around the Gulf Coast painter whose work defines the town. Each November, the Peter Anderson Arts and Crafts Festival fills those streets. Ocean Springs already skews older, with roughly 21% of residents past 65, a share above the national norm. The retirement case sets that culture beside care close at hand. Ocean Springs Hospital, part of the Singing River system, handles emergencies and rehabilitation in town. The Gulf Islands National Seashore sits minutes away, with marked trails and bayou kayak launches at the Davis Bayou unit. Home values stay near $269,000 in 2026, well above the state average, since the arts district and the bay hold their value. Ocean Springs is hard to beat for retirees who want an arts town on the water with a hospital close by.
Gautier
Gautier counts more than 70 miles of waterfront, threaded through bayous, barrier islands, and the West Pascagoula River that locals call the Singing River. The river runs without dams, one of the few of its size left. Kayakers paddle past herons, ospreys, and the occasional dolphin. Shepard State Park covers nearly 400 acres along the Sound, with nature trails, campsites, and a fishing pier. The town feels greener and less built-up than its beachfront neighbors. The city notes that snowbirds return each winter for the mild climate and roughly 220 sunny days a year. Price is part of the draw. A typical home costs near $189,000 in 2026, just over the state and among the gentler footings on this list. Parts of Gautier also sit outside the mapped flood zones, which can ease insurance. Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula is about 10 miles east, with Ocean Springs Hospital a similar drive west. Gautier draws retirees who want river-and-bayou nature, mild winters, and a smaller monthly cost.
Pascagoula
Pascagoula runs between the Pascagoula River and the Gulf of Mexico, with sandy beaches on its south side and Lighthouse Park for fishing and boating. Upriver, the bayous and marsh draw kayakers and birders past herons and egrets. This is a working town, home to Ingalls Shipbuilding, one of the state's largest employers, so it trades resort polish for two advantages. The first is healthcare. Singing River Hospital, the county system's flagship, sits in town with a full range of emergency and specialty care. The second is price. The typical home settles near $142,000 in 2026, the lowest on this list and below the state average. The honest trade-off is water, since much of the city sits in a mapped flood zone and insurance runs higher. Downtown, Main Street hosts Third Friday block parties in the warmer months. Pascagoula makes sense for retirees who want the lowest prices and a hospital in town, and who do not mind a working port next door.
Weighing The Coast
These seven towns set a short coast against a deep set of practical advantages. Mississippi taxes no retirement income, and homeowners 65 and older drop the first $75,000 of home value off the tax rolls. Prices run highest in Diamondhead and Pass Christian and lowest in Pascagoula and Gautier, with Ochsner, Memorial, and Singing River covering the shore between. The coast rewards a retiree who weighs the water against the flood maps and the storm season, and still wants in.
