Jackson, MS vs Riverside, CA
Moving from Jackson to Riverside? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($215,136 → $585,378 median home) and taxes.
Jackson vs Riverside 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 $119,484 in Riverside, CA (+$19,484).
Livability — Jackson, MS: 76 · Riverside, CA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,766 sqft in Jackson vs 1,281 sqft in Riverside ($105 vs $390 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Jackson, MS | Riverside, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,400 | $30,228 | +$12,828 |
| Groceries | $4,722 | $5,098 | +$375 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $5,125 | +$1,715 |
| Utilities | $1,812 | $3,804 | +$1,992 |
| Insurance | $3,100 | $1,500 | −$1,600 |
| Taxes | $8,536 | $19,978 | +$11,443 |
| Total | $38,980 | $65,733 | +$26,753 |
Side by side
| Metric | Jackson, MS | Riverside, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.8 | 107.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.03% | 6.95% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.2% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.11 | $6.11 |
| Median home price | $215,136 | $585,378 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.6× | 7.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.4% | -0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $105 | $390 |
| Median rent | $1,450 | $2,519 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.07% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.70% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.77% | 0.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.42% | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 33 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,100 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.8 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.90 | 4.85 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $93 | $138 |
| Home internet / mo | $75 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 45 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 54.9 | 9.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 2.7 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 64% | 78% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |