Blog > Buying Near Ingalls: How Pascagoula and Gautier Actually Compare
Buying Near Ingalls: How Pascagoula and Gautier Actually Compare
By Randy Richardson, Broker Associate, The 4th Right Team
Quick Answer: Ingalls Shipbuilding employs more than 11,000 people on 800 acres in Pascagoula, which makes it the largest manufacturing employer in Mississippi. If you work there, your housing decision comes down to commute time and price per foot, and the two closest markets answer that question very differently. Pascagoula puts you minutes from the gate and is the most affordable city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Gautier sits just west with easy Highway 90 and I-10 access and generally higher prices. One warning before you compare anything: the numbers you find online for these two cities are usually different metrics measured different ways, and comparing them directly will mislead you. Ingalls also offers no relocation assistance on posted positions, so if you're moving here for a job, the cost side is entirely yours.
Why this comes down to two things
Ingalls runs multiple shifts. If you're on second or third, or you're a first-class trade going in early, you're driving at hours when Highway 90 and the I-10 corridor behave differently than they do at noon. So the honest way to compare housing near the yard is on drive time to the gate and on what a dollar buys you per square foot. Everything else is personal.
That's how I'd want it framed if I worked there. Not "where do shipbuilders live," which is a question nobody can answer for you, but "what's within twenty minutes of the gate and what does it cost."
One practical thing worth knowing up front: Ingalls posts positions with no relocation assistance available. If you're coming in from out of state for a job, nobody's covering your move or your closing costs. That makes the price side of this a bigger deal than it would be for someone with a corporate relo package.
Pascagoula: closest to the gate, cheapest on the Coast
Pascagoula is where the yard is, so the commute conversation basically ends here. You can live within a few minutes of the gate.
It's also the most affordable city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and it isn't close. Zillow's Home Value Index put the typical Pascagoula home value at $146,072 as of June 30, 2026, down 0.6% year over year, with homes going pending in around 21 days.
Read that last part again. Twenty-one days to pending is fast. Affordable and quick-moving at the same time means when something good comes up, you don't get a week to think about it. If you're shopping Pascagoula listings, be pre-approved before you start looking, not after you find something.
The housing stock skews older, which matters more here than the price tag does. Older homes on the Coast come with roof age questions, insurance questions, and, if you're using a government-backed loan, appraisal condition questions. None of that is disqualifying. It's just work you should plan for instead of discovering.
Gautier: a few more minutes, a different price point
Gautier sits immediately west of Pascagoula with good access to both Highway 90 and I-10. Call it a short drive to the yard rather than a walk to it.
Redfin put Gautier's median sale price at $232,500 in March 2026. Movoto had the median list price at $239,000 in September 2026 at $137 per square foot, with a median 87 days on market.
Now the part I want you to notice, because it's the whole reason to read this from an agent instead of a national site.
Why you can't compare those two numbers
The Pascagoula figure I gave you is a typical home value from an automated index. The Gautier figures are a median sale price and a median list price. Those are three different metrics that answer three different questions, and stacking them next to each other produces a comparison that looks precise and isn't.
It gets worse. Gautier's median sale price was reported up 20.5% year over year, which sounds like a market on fire. Look at the volume: roughly 20 to 24 homes sold in Gautier in a recent month. On sales counts that small, a handful of higher-end closings moves the median hard. That's noise, not a trend.
Same problem with county numbers. Jackson County's median sale price ran about $269,000 over a recent three-month window at $151 per square foot, per Redfin. But Jackson County also contains Ocean Springs and Vancleave, and those pull the county figure well above what you'd actually pay in either city near the yard. The county number describes almost nobody.
So here's the honest answer. To genuinely compare Pascagoula and Gautier, you need median sold price per square foot from the same date range for both cities, pulled from the MLS. That's a real comparison. Our market snapshot gets closer to that than any national site will, and the wider Coast price picture gives you context. Ask for the pull before you decide anything.
The other options within commuting distance
If neither city fits, the ring around the yard has more in it.
Moss Point sits just north and is the second most affordable city on the Coast after Pascagoula. Short commute, similar housing stock questions.
Ocean Springs is farther west and prices considerably higher, so you're trading commute minutes and dollars for a different kind of market. Vancleave is north of I-10 and puts you on acreage, with a longer drive and the well and septic considerations that come with buying up there.
Worth knowing about Vancleave and other thin markets: monthly medians swing badly on low sales volume. Price off comparable acreage and comparable square footage, not off whatever a single month's median says.
What actually decides your monthly payment
Sale price is the number everybody shops on and it's not the number that decides what you pay.
Insurance does that down here, and it varies by address more than by city. Two houses at the same price in the same zip code can be hundreds of dollars a month apart once you add wind and flood. Quote the specific address before you write, and understand roughly what coverage runs on this coast before you set your budget.
On financing, a couple of things help. Ingalls HR handles employment and earnings verification requests from mortgage companies directly, so tell your lender that early and it'll go smoother. And if you're a first-time buyer, Mississippi has down payment assistance programs worth checking, plus the general truth that you don't need 20% down to buy here. Talk to a lender before you shop, especially with Pascagoula moving in three weeks.
By the Numbers
11,000+ Ingalls Shipbuilding employees, the largest manufacturing employer in Mississippi
800 acres the Pascagoula shipyard footprint
1938 the year Ingalls was founded on the east bank of the Pascagoula River
1952 founding year of the Ingalls Apprentice School, offering 14 craft apprenticeship programs
$0 relocation assistance offered on posted Ingalls positions
$146,072 Pascagoula typical home value, Zillow Home Value Index, June 30, 2026
21 days typical time to pending in Pascagoula, same source
$232,500 Gautier median sale price, Redfin, March 2026
$137 Gautier median list price per square foot, Movoto, September 2026
$269,000 Jackson County median sale price over a recent three-month window, Redfin
~20 to 24 homes sold in Gautier in a recent month, which is why monthly medians there swing
The Bottom Line
If your job is at the yard and your priority is the shortest commute and the lowest price, Pascagoula is the answer and there isn't a close second on this coast. Just move fast, because it does.
If you want a slightly different price point and don't mind adding minutes, Gautier is right there with good highway access both directions.
What I'd tell anybody working at Ingalls is this. Don't pick a city off a median price you read online. Those numbers are measured differently in different places and they'll steer you wrong. Get a proper price per square foot comparison for the same date range, get an insurance quote on the actual address, and then compare the full monthly number. That's the only comparison that means anything.
If you're shopping, our buyer's guide covers the process and you can browse Gautier listings alongside Pascagoula. If you already own near the yard and want to know where you stand, start with a home value estimate. Either way, a local agent can pull the real numbers for both cities in about an hour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ingalls Shipbuilding located?
Ingalls Shipbuilding occupies roughly 800 acres in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on the east bank of the Pascagoula River. Founded in 1938 and now a division of HII, it employs more than 11,000 people and is the largest manufacturing employer in Mississippi.
Is Pascagoula or Gautier cheaper?
Pascagoula is the most affordable city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Comparing the two precisely is harder than it looks, because publicly available figures for each city are often different metrics. A same-date-range comparison of median sold price per square foot from the MLS is the reliable way to answer it.
How fast does the Pascagoula market move?
Faster than the price point suggests. Zillow reported homes going to pending in around 21 days as of June 30, 2026. Buyers should have financing arranged before beginning their search rather than after finding a property.
Does Ingalls offer relocation assistance?
Posted Ingalls positions generally state that no relocation assistance is available. New hires moving in from out of state should budget for the move and closing costs themselves.
Why do Gautier home prices look like they jumped so much?
Sales volume. Roughly 20 to 24 homes sold in Gautier in a recent month, and on counts that low a few higher-priced closings move the median substantially. Year-over-year percentage changes on small samples reflect noise more than trend.
What other cities are within commuting distance of the shipyard?
Moss Point sits just north and is the second most affordable city on the Coast. Ocean Springs lies farther west at a higher price point. Vancleave, north of I-10, offers acreage with a longer drive and typically involves well and septic systems rather than city utilities.
Will Ingalls verify my employment for a mortgage lender?
Yes. Ingalls Human Resources and Payroll handle employment and earnings verification requests from mortgage companies, though the employee's authorization is required before information is released. Mentioning this to your lender early can prevent delays.
Sources
HII, Ingalls Shipbuilding division overview and employment figures: https://www.hii.com/ingalls-shipbuilding
HII, Ingalls Shipbuilding careers, apprentice school and employment verification: https://www.hii.com/careers/ingalls-shipbuilding
HII newsroom, skilled trades hiring and workforce expansion, May 2026: https://www.hii.com/news/ingalls-shipbuilding-to-host-on-site-skilled-trades-hiring-event-june-6
Zillow, Pascagoula MS home values, updated June 30, 2026: https://www.zillow.com/home-values/75366/pascagoula-ms-39595/
Redfin, Gautier MS market data: https://www.redfin.com/city/6862/MS/Gautier
Redfin, Jackson County MS housing market: https://www.redfin.com/county/1547/MS/Jackson-County/housing-market
Movoto, Gautier MS median list price and days on market, September 2026: https://www.movoto.com/gautier-ms/
Randy Richardson is a Broker Associate and Team Leader of The 4th Right Team at CENTURY 21 J. Carter & Company. He works with buyers and sellers across the Mississippi Gulf Coast, from Bay St. Louis to Pascagoula and north of I-10.
Randy Richardson | Broker Associate
The 4th Right Team | Century 21 J. Carter & Company
Office: (228) 731-3881 | Cell: (228) 547-9999
realtorrandyrichardson@gmail.com
www.The4thRightTeam.com