Every Mississippi County and District Eligible for HAT

Program and regulatory figures verified October 6, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.

By Mike Certo, Cornerstone First Mortgage · NMLS #260555 · Updated October 6, 2026

Eligibility here is decided district by district, not county by county. This is the full list as MHC publishes it, with the date we checked it.

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How do I read this list?

Find your county, then find your district within it. Both have to match: the home you buy must be in the county where you teach, and the district employing you must be one the Mississippi Department of Education has designated as having a critical shortage of teachers.

A county appearing here does not mean every district in it qualifies. Hinds County lists nine districts and charter schools; several large districts in the state appear nowhere on the list. Check the district name, not the county name.

The counties and districts

Sixty-eight counties and 102 districts, listed alphabetically, with every district MHC publishes for each. Source: MHC's Housing Assistance for Teachers page.

What if my county is not here?

Fourteen of Mississippi's eighty-two counties have no district on the list, so HAT is not available for a purchase there. That does not close off assistance. Smart7, Easy8, Trusty10 and JustRate are statewide, and Smart7 in particular has no first-time requirement and the highest income ceiling in the state.

A teacher outside an eligible district is in exactly the same position as any other Mississippi buyer, which is a better position than most people realise. Compare the four MHC programs.

Does this list change?

Yes. Critical-shortage designations are made for a school year and the Department revisits them, so a district can join or leave the list. That is why this page carries a verification date rather than presenting itself as permanent.

Before you write an offer, have the district confirmed for the current year. We will do that with you. Call (480) 296-6513.

Why does the county matter if eligibility is by district?

Because MHC applies both tests at once. The district must be designated, and the residential property must be located within the county where the teacher is employed. A teacher working in a designated district in one county cannot use HAT to buy across the county line.

For teachers near a county boundary this is the single most important sentence on the page, and it is easy to miss in MHC's own text.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my school district qualifies for HAT?

Find your county in the table above, then confirm your specific district is listed for it. The Mississippi Department of Education designates which districts carry a critical shortage of teachers, and only those qualify. A county appearing on the list does not mean all of its districts do. Designations are set by school year, so confirm the current year before writing an offer. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.

Can I use the Mississippi teacher grant to buy a home in a different county than where I teach?

No. MHC requires that the residential property be located within the county where the teacher is employed, in addition to the district carrying the Department of Education's critical-shortage designation. Both conditions apply together, so a purchase across the county line does not qualify even if your district is designated. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.

How many Mississippi counties qualify for the teacher housing grant?

Sixty-eight of the eighty-two. The remaining fourteen have no district on the Mississippi Department of Education's critical-shortage list, so HAT cannot be used for a purchase there. Teachers in those counties can still use Smart7, Easy8, Trusty10 or JustRate, all of which are statewide. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.

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Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not tax or legal guidance. MHC program terms, income limits and purchase price limits are set by the Mississippi Home Corporation and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against MHC's published pages and its Homebuyer Guide. Smart7 and Easy8 are 0% second mortgages with no monthly payment, deferred until sale, refinance, loss of owner-occupancy or payoff of the first mortgage. Trusty10 is a 15-year second at a 2% rate set by MHC and does carry a monthly payment. Housing Assistance for Teachers is Mississippi Department of Education grant money forgiven on completion of three years' service in a district the Department designates as critical-shortage. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.