Jackson, MS vs Phoenix, AZ
Moving from Jackson to Phoenix? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($215,136 → $448,352 median home) and taxes.
Jackson vs Phoenix 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 $116,518 in Phoenix, AZ (+$16,518).
Livability — Jackson, MS: 76 · Phoenix, AZ: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,766 sqft in Jackson vs 2,063 sqft in Phoenix ($105 vs $242 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Jackson, MS | Phoenix, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,400 | $20,904 | +$3,504 |
| Groceries | $4,722 | $4,919 | +$197 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $3,960 | +$550 |
| Utilities | $1,812 | $1,668 | −$144 |
| Insurance | $3,100 | $1,800 | −$1,300 |
| Taxes | $8,536 | $7,280 | −$1,255 |
| Total | $38,980 | $40,531 | +$1,551 |
Side by side
| Metric | Jackson, MS | Phoenix, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.8 | 104.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.03% | 4.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.2% | 6.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.11 | $5.96 |
| Median home price | $215,136 | $448,352 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.6× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.4% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $105 | $242 |
| Median rent | $1,450 | $1,742 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.07% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.70% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.77% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.42% | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,100 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.8 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.90 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $54 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $93 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $75 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 41 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 54.9 | 7.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 2.7 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 64% | 85% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |