Jackson, MS vs Denver, CO
Moving from Jackson to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($215,136 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Jackson vs Denver 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 Jackson, MS, you'd need about $117,733 in Denver, CO (+$17,733).
Livability — Jackson, MS: 76 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,766 sqft in Jackson vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($105 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Jackson, MS | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,400 | $22,920 | +$5,520 |
| Groceries | $4,722 | $5,079 | +$357 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $4,050 | +$640 |
| Utilities | $1,812 | $1,788 | −$24 |
| Insurance | $3,100 | $2,800 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $8,536 | $9,828 | +$1,292 |
| Total | $38,980 | $46,464 | +$7,485 |
Side by side
| Metric | Jackson, MS | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.8 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.03% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.2% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.11 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $215,136 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.6× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.4% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $105 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,450 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.07% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.70% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.77% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.42% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,100 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.8 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.90 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $93 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $75 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 54.9 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 2.7 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 64% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |