Jackson, MS vs Seattle, WA
Moving from Jackson to Seattle? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($215,136 → $750,279 median home) and taxes.
Jackson vs Seattle 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 $125,484 in Seattle, WA (+$25,484).
Livability — Jackson, MS: 76 · Seattle, WA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,766 sqft in Jackson vs 1,200 sqft in Seattle ($105 vs $417 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Jackson, MS | Seattle, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,400 | $26,784 | +$9,384 |
| Groceries | $4,722 | $5,405 | +$683 |
| Transportation | $3,410 | $4,075 | +$665 |
| Utilities | $1,812 | $1,548 | −$264 |
| Insurance | $3,100 | $1,500 | −$1,600 |
| Taxes | $8,536 | $8,826 | +$291 |
| Total | $38,980 | $48,138 | +$9,159 |
Side by side
| Metric | Jackson, MS | Seattle, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.8 | 112.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.03% | 4.59% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.2% | 7.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.11 | $6.41 |
| Median home price | $215,136 | $750,279 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.6× | 7.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.4% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $105 | $417 |
| Median rent | $1,450 | $2,232 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.07% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.70% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.77% | 0.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $6,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.42% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,100 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.8 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.90 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $93 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $75 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 280 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 92 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 54.9 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 2.7 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 64% | 47% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |