Southeast · Updated October 2026
Mississippi in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$1,087/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
22.1%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
4%
top marginal rate, single filer
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
0.65%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
96.1
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
54th
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
Where Mississippi stands out: the 6th lowest violent crime and the 3rd cheapest two-bedroom rent among the 50 states.
What to weigh: the lowest median household income.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 5.6% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 13th lowest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Jackson (Jackson Intl Airport station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 60°F | 38°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 77°F | 54°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 91°F | 71°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 78°F | 55°F |
$1,289/mo two-bedroom · $1,105 one-bedroom (Jackson, MS HUD Metro FMR Area)
Jackson is Mississippi's capital and largest city, with extremely low housing costs, a rich blues and civil-rights history, and serious ongoing problems with water infrastructure and population loss. Look closely at specific neighbourhoods.
$1,185/mo two-bedroom · $982 one-bedroom (Gulfport-Biloxi, MS HUD Metro FMR Area)
Gulfport is a Mississippi Gulf Coast city with beaches, casinos and a large port. Cheap, hurricane-exposed, humid, with an economy built on gaming, shipping and the military.
$1,316/mo two-bedroom · $1,117 one-bedroom (Hattiesburg, MS MSA)
Hattiesburg is a southern Mississippi college town with a university, a hospital system and a low cost of living. Pine forests, hot summers, and a pace set by the academic calendar.
$1,255/mo two-bedroom · $1,017 one-bedroom (Lafayette County, MS)
Oxford is Ole Miss's town — a picture-perfect town square, a literary tradition and an intense football culture. Charming and increasingly expensive for Mississippi, and very quiet out of term.
$1,185/mo two-bedroom · $982 one-bedroom (Gulfport-Biloxi, MS HUD Metro FMR Area)
Biloxi is a Gulf Coast casino and beach city with a working seafood industry and an Air Force base. Very affordable, hurricane-exposed, and heavily dependent on gaming and tourism.
$1,044/mo two-bedroom · $924 one-bedroom (Lee County, MS)
Tupelo is a northeast Mississippi city known as Elvis Presley's birthplace, with furniture manufacturing and a large regional hospital. Very affordable and family-oriented.
$1,024/mo two-bedroom · $941 one-bedroom (Oktibbeha County, MS)
Starkville is the home of Mississippi State University, with a small downtown that fills on game days. Cheap and friendly, with a limited job market beyond the university.
$1,099/mo two-bedroom · $966 one-bedroom (Pascagoula, MS HUD Metro FMR Area)
Ocean Springs is an artsy small town on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, with oak-lined streets and a lively downtown. Close to the shipyards in Pascagoula; hurricane exposure is the major caveat.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
Yes. Mississippi’s top marginal income-tax rate for a single filer is 4% (Mississippi tax law, 2026). Counting property and sales tax too, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 5.6% of income in state and local taxes (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $1,087 a month and a one-bedroom for about $928, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $672 less than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 96.1 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 51.7 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 22.1% of the state’s median household income of $59,127.
Mississippi recorded 210.5 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the 6th lowest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Mississippi’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 54th percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Jackson, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Oxford and Biloxi. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.