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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Here's Jackson by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 75. Rent: $1,283/month. Income: $43,238/year. Home price: $86,017. Population: 143,709. The strongest category is Housing at 75; the most expensive is Healthcare at 95. Translate that rent to annual number…
#1 Ranked: Jackson — cost index 75, rent $1,283/mo, income $43,238
Veteran scoring: cost index 75, state tax 5%, healthcare index 95 — preserving earned benefits
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Here's Jackson by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 75. Rent: $1,283/month. Income: $43,238/year. Home price: $86,017. Population: 143,709. The strongest category is Housing at 75; the most expensive is Healthcare at 95. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $7,344 per year vs. the national median. That adds up much faster than people realize.
Veterans have unique financial considerations: pension, VA disability, GI Bill benefits all interact with local costs and taxes. Our model weights cost of living (20pts), state tax burden (20pts), and healthcare costs (15pts) for supplemental care beyond VA. Jackson scores highest with a 75 cost index and 5% state tax.
Military veterans have earned every benefit — where do those benefits go furthest? We analyzed 1 cities in Mississippi: cost, state taxes, and supplemental healthcare. Jackson — index 75 — for better or worse — , 5% state tax — leads.
That's the upside. And from what we can tell, here's the tension: State context matters: Mississippi's 1 cities average a 75 cost index with $1,283/month median rent and $43,238 household income. The most affordable state in America by most measures. We spotlight the top cities individually below, and #3 is the real story.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
143,709 residents · Mississippi
What does daily life actually cost in Jackson? Start with the 36% rent-to-income ratio — stretched, especially for single earners. On the category level, Housing (index 75) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 95) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $43,238 and homes at $86,017 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to military veterans. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Mississippi by this personalized metric. 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 75 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.