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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Veterans' benefits — pension, VA disability, GI Bill — stretch farther in some cities. We ranked 1 cities in Mississippi on cost, state tax burden, and healthcare. Jackson leads with index 84 and 5% state tax.
Veterans' benefits — pension, VA disability, GI Bill — stretch farther in some cities. We ranked 1 cities in Mississippi on cost, state tax burden, and healthcare. Jackson leads with index 84 and 5% state tax.
Dive into Jackson's numbers: cost index 84 (28 points below national average), rent $1,283/month, income $43,238, and a home price of $86,017. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 61, while Healthcare runs 87. With 143,709 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
The state-level view adds helpful context here. The 1 cities we track in Mississippi paint a clearly affordable picture. Average cost index: 84. Median rent: $1,283/month. Household income: $43,238. Mississippi is known for the most affordable state in America by most measures — and the data backs that reputation convincingly.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
#1 Ranked: Jackson — cost index 84, rent $1,283/mo, income $43,238
Veteran scoring: cost index 84, state tax 5%, healthcare index 87 — preserving earned benefits
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
143,709 residents · Mississippi
The #1 spot goes to Jackson, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,283/month — saving renters $7,344 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 61, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 87. The 36% rent-to-income ratio is a pressure point — for median earners, housing takes more than recommended.
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to military veterans. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Jackson ranks #1 in Mississippi for this analysis with a cost index of 84 and median income of $43,238.
Jackson scores highest for military veterans due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,283/mo, and competitive median income of $43,238.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Jackson is $1,283/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $612 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Jackson is $86,017, which is 2.0× the local median income. That's within the standard 3.5× affordability rule for most local earners. The national median home price is $467,370.
Mississippi has a 5% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.07%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.63%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.