Miami, FL vs Jackson, MS
Moving from Miami to Jackson? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($475,622 → $215,136 median home) and taxes.
Miami 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 Miami, FL, you'd need about $80,149 in Jackson, MS (−$19,851).
Livability — Miami, FL: 57 · Jackson, MS: 76 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,945 sqft in Miami vs 4,766 sqft in Jackson ($257 vs $105 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Miami, FL | Jackson, MS | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $32,316 | $17,400 | −$14,916 |
| Groceries | $5,091 | $4,722 | −$369 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,410 | −$1,390 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,812 | +$156 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $3,100 | −$1,100 |
| Taxes | $5,772 | $8,536 | +$2,764 |
| Total | $53,835 | $38,980 | −$14,856 |
Side by side
| Metric | Miami, FL | Jackson, MS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.1 | 89.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 6.03% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 2.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.38 | $5.11 |
| Median home price | $475,622 | $215,136 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 3.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 2.4% |
| Price per square foot | $257 | $105 |
| Median rent | $2,693 | $1,450 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 7.07% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.70% |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 0.77% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $6,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.42% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $3,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 16.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 2.90 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $93 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $75 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 67.4 | 54.9 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 2.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 70% | 64% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |