Chicago, IL vs Jackson, MS
Moving from Chicago to Jackson? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($353,998 → $215,136 median home) and taxes.
Chicago vs Jackson at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Chicago, IL, you'd need about $87,658 in Jackson, MS (−$12,342).
Livability — Chicago, IL: 63 · Jackson, MS: 76 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,402 sqft in Chicago vs 4,766 sqft in Jackson ($208 vs $105 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chicago, IL | Jackson, MS | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,192 | $17,400 | −$9,792 |
| Groceries | $5,215 | $4,722 | −$493 |
| Transportation | $3,550 | $3,410 | −$140 |
| Utilities | $2,208 | $1,812 | −$396 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $3,100 | +$1,200 |
| Taxes | $14,141 | $8,536 | −$5,605 |
| Total | $54,206 | $38,980 | −$15,227 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chicago, IL | Jackson, MS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 89.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.19% | 6.03% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 2.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.11 |
| Median home price | $353,998 | $215,136 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 3.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.4% | 2.4% |
| Price per square foot | $208 | $105 |
| Median rent | $2,266 | $1,450 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.9% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.86% | 7.07% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.95% | 4.70% |
| Property tax rate | 2.11% | 0.77% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $14,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.42% |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $3,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 20.5 | 16.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 2.90 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $57 | $93 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $75 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 15 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.9 | 54.9 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 38.8 | 2.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 64% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |