Gautier, pronounced GO-chay or GO-shay depending upon whom you ask, is a young and growing city in the heart of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

This attractive city is known as “Nature’s Playground” due to our meandering bayous, beautiful waterfront amenities, outdoor recreation, championship-level golf course, abundant wildlife, Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, and 400-acre Shepard State Park.

We boast a high-performing public school system, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Jackson County campus, a business-friendly atmosphere with one of the coast’s lowest tax rates, an emerging eco-tourism industry, and some of the nicest residents you’ll ever meet.

Gautier is listed among the 10 happiest cities in the state, based on a survey citing our housing costs, commute times, wildlife, and outdoor recreation.

During a 2002 annexation, the city doubled its size, and we continue to grow. We now have a population of 18,600 on our 33 square miles.We have some of the highest home values and lowest crime rates in Jackson County, and our median income is higher than the state average and most of our coastal neighbors. (source: http://www.gautier-ms.gov/)

SIGHTS AND ACTIVITIES

COME SPEND A DAY IN GAUTIER!

There’s no better way to get back in touch with nature than by visiting Gautier, Mississippi on the beautiful Gulf Coast. Known as “Nature’s Playground,” our charming city offers outdoor adventures against some of the south’s most breathtaking backdrops.

Hitch a ride on an eco-tour through our winding bayous and snap photos of egrets and white pelicans as sunset paints the sky a vibrant orange. Spy on gators as you fish for brim from the popular City Park pier. Play a round of golf on a championship-level course as cicadas sing you a peaceful melody.

Gautier’s 400-acre Shepard State Park has the perfect spot for your RV, camper, or tent, with modern amenities and activities including hiking, birding, disc golf, a dog park, boat launch, and competition-level archery range. Plan an educational trip to the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge for a guided crane tour or hiking tour of the wet pine savanna to learn more about our endangered feathered friend.

If you want a slower pace, take a leisurely walk through Gautier’s town center, but don’t forget to stop by one of our local coffee shops for a rich espresso or restaurants for the fresh catch of the day. If you’re up for some late-night excitement, drop into one of our waterfront restaurants for live local music, or Gautier is just minutes from casinos in Biloxi and Gulfport.

Come visit us and see what you can find on nature’s playground.

EDUCATION

HIGH SCHOOL (GRADES 9-12)

• Gautier High School

MIDDLE SCHOOLS (GRADES 5-8)

• Gautier Middle School (Grades 7-8)
• Singing River Academy (Grades 5-6)

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS (GRADES PREK-4)

• College Park Elementary
• Gautier Elementary
• Martin Bluff Elementary

DISTRICT CAMPUSES

• Jackson County Exceptional School
• Opportunity Center
• College & Career Technical Institute (Grades 9-12)

NEIGHBORHOOD

Gautier is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Mississippi. With a population of 18,570 people and four constituent neighborhoods, Gautier is the 21st largest community in Mississippi.

Unlike some cities, Gautier isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Gautier are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Gautier is a city of service providers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Gautier who work in office and administrative support (10.92%), sales jobs (8.76%), and management occupations (8.10%).

Also of interest is that Gautier has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Gautier is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

Gautier is a small city, and as such doesn’t have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.

HISTORY

The City of Gautier owes its moniker to Fernando Upton Gautier, who in 1867 established Fernando Gautier & Sons Sawmill on the west side of the Pascagoula River and sparked growth in the area.

When trains began stopping to pick up lumber from the sawmill, the new town had to be marked on a map. The population was only a couple hundred people at that time, and they were calling the area “Gautier” due to the prominent family’s name being painted on the sawmill water tower.

Gautier was a rural community until World War II began, when shipyard workers began to move to the area to work at the nearby Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula. Litton Industries bought and expanded the Ingalls yard in the 1960s, and Gautier began another growth spurt.

The City of Gautier was incorporated in 1986, and we have continued to grow as a “bedroom community” to the neighboring casinos and other major industries surrounding us.