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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Student life means every dollar counts. And as a general rule, we scored 1 cities across Mississippi for rent, food, and cost of living. Jackson (rent $1,283/mo, cost index 75) ranks #1 for 2026. An outlier in the best sense.
Student life means every dollar counts. And as a general rule, we scored 1 cities across Mississippi for rent, food, and cost of living. Jackson (rent $1,283/mo, cost index 75) ranks #1 for 2026. An outlier in the best sense.
Dive into Jackson's numbers: cost index 75 (36 points below national average), rent $1,283/month, income $43,238, and a home price of $86,017. And for the typical household, the city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 75, while Healthcare runs 95. With 143,709 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
Student affordability boils down to three survival metrics: rent under $1,200/month (25pts), overall cost index (20pts), and food costs (10pts). Jackson leads at $1,283/month rent with a food index of 91 — 9% below the national food cost baseline (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
Worth noting: Across Mississippi, the average cost of living index is 75 — 36 points below the national median. Known for the most affordable state in America by most measures, the state offers 1 tracked cities with median rents averaging $1,283/month. That's $612 less than the national average of $1,895. That's a meaningful edge in practice.
Bottom line: Jackson leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
#1 Ranked: Jackson — cost index 75, rent $1,283/mo, income $43,238
Student-budget scoring: rent $1,283/mo, food index 91, cost index 75 — survival-level affordability
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
143,709 residents · Mississippi
Jackson is one of the cheaper options here. Rent is $1,283/month — for better or worse — , which is lower than most cities in this ranking. The cost index is 75. Income sits at $43,238. That tracks.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to students. 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 students 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.