All-items parity
87.0
US = 100.0
Mississippi (MS) | All-items parity 87.0
Mississippi Cost of Living 2026
Mississippi reads 87.0 on the BEA all-items price parity for 2024, second-cheapest in the nation by a tenth of a point, and some of the cheapest housing in America: a $186,500 median home, second only to West Virginia, and a median two-bedroom rent of $963. The flat 4% income tax is on a legislated path toward elimination, and retirement income is already fully exempt. The counterweights are the nation's lowest median income ($59,127), groceries that still carry sales tax, and healthcare access that ranks among the country's most strained.
Lowest median home price in the USIncome tax phasing toward zeroRetirement income fully exempt
Median Home
$186,500
2BR rent $963/mo
Median Income
$59,127
Household, Census ACS
Category breakdown
The four BEA price parities vs the nation
| Category | MS index | National avg | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All items | 87.0 | 100.0 | -13.0% |
| Services: housing rents | 56.5 | 100.6 | -43.8% |
| Goods | 96.2 | 99.6 | -3.4% |
| Services: utilities | 78.4 | 98.4 | -20.3% |
| Services: other | 96.1 | 100.1 | -4.0% |
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes these four component parities and no others. There is no federal grocery, healthcare or transportation price parity, so this table shows none. Food at home sits inside Goods; medical and transport services sit inside Services: other.
Sources: BEA Regional Price Parities by State (table SARPP), 2024 reference year, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Census ACS 2024 1-year (median income, home value), Mississippi Department of Revenue (income and sales tax), Tax Foundation (effective property tax), EIA (electricity rates), KFF (uninsured rate).
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Pros / offsets
What works in Mississippi.
The cheapest homeownership in America. A $186,500 median home at a 0.63% effective property tax, with a homestead exemption on top and over-65 owners exempt on the first $75,000 of value, makes the carrying cost of a paid-off Mississippi home nearly nominal.
An income tax legislated to shrink. The flat 4% rate is scheduled to step down year by year under the 2025 law, with full elimination the stated destination as revenue triggers are met. Retirement income, Social Security, pensions, 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, is already entirely exempt.
Rents that barely register. At $963 for a median two-bedroom and a rents parity of 56.5, a full-time job at modest wages still clears housing.
Pockets of genuine quality. Oxford's university-town polish, Madison and the Jackson suburbs' school districts, and the Gulf Coast's casino-and-shipbuilding economy (Biloxi, Ocean Springs) offer amenities that defy the state's averages at prices that match them.
Cons / drivers
Where Mississippi costs more.
The lowest incomes in the nation. At $59,127 median household income, local wages track prices down; the famous cheapness is an advantage chiefly for retirees, remote workers and anyone importing income.
Healthcare is the hard constraint. Mississippi has not expanded Medicaid, 11.8% are uninsured, rural hospitals keep closing or cutting maternity and emergency services, and the state sits at the bottom of most national health rankings. For anyone with ongoing medical needs, county choice is a healthcare decision first.
Groceries still carry sales tax. Mississippi long taxed food at the full 7% state rate, the harshest grocery tax in the country; the 2025 law cut the grocery rate to 5%, relief, but still a tax most states abolished generations ago.
Insurance climbs toward the coast. Gulf wind exposure makes homeowners coverage in the three coastal counties expensive and sometimes hard to place, and auto premiums (averaging $475) run high statewide for the usual rural-South reasons.
Tax + benefit signals
Mississippi tax and access overview
State income tax
4%
Graduated or flat
Property tax effective
0.63%
Of assessed value, annual
Sales tax (state)
7.00%
Local can add 1-4% more
Uninsured rate
11.8%
Medicaid: not expanded
Your take-home pay in Mississippi
Federal, Mississippi and any local income tax on your salary, per paycheck.
The mortgage on a $186,500 home
Monthly payment at today’s rates with Mississippi property tax (0.63%) and average home insurance.
Metro variation
State averages mask city variation.
Mississippi averages 87.0 on the BEA all-items parity, with its few distinct markets arranged around that floor:
Jackson metro: The capital's story is suburban: Madison, Ridgeland and Brandon carry the state's strongest schools and six-figure-income neighborhoods, while Jackson proper offers some of the cheapest urban housing in America alongside well-documented water and services struggles.
The Gulf Coast (Biloxi, Gulfport, Ocean Springs): Casinos, Ingalls Shipbuilding and Keesler AFB support steadier wages; Ocean Springs adds the arts-town premium. Wind insurance is the coast's cost signature.
Oxford and Starkville: The university towns, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, run well above state pricing, Oxford especially, where game-day economics and retiree in-migration have pushed desirable neighborhoods past $400,000.
The Delta and the hills: The cheapest inhabited housing in the United States, towns where $60,000 buys a house, paired with the thinnest labor markets and longest hospital drives anywhere.
Mississippi rewards knowing exactly which of these markets you are pricing; the state average describes none of them well.
Frequently Asked
Mississippi cost of living, answered
Is Mississippi's income tax really being eliminated?
That is the legislated direction. Mississippi moved to a single flat rate in 2023, and the 2025 law set out annual step-downs from 4% with further cuts tied to revenue growth triggers, aiming at eventual elimination. Whether the triggers fire on schedule depends on the state economy, but each enacted step is binding. Retirement income is already fully exempt today, so for retirees the phase-out changes little; for wage earners it compounds year by year.
Does Mississippi still tax groceries?
Yes, though less than before: the 2025 tax law cut the sales tax on groceries from the full 7%, long the heaviest grocery tax in the nation, to 5%. That still leaves Mississippi among the small group of states taxing food at all. On spending, households average $373 a month on groceries, among the lowest in the country, so the tax bites a small base; the policy direction has been consistent relief.
Why is Mississippi housing the cheapest in America?
Supply was built for a larger, wealthier economy than today's rural Mississippi supports: population decline across the Delta and hills leaves abundant stock against thin demand, and the $186,500 statewide median, lowest in the US, is dragged down by entire counties where homes trade below $100,000. The functioning metros (Jackson suburbs, the Coast, Oxford) price higher, but even they undercut equivalent neighborhoods in neighboring states.
How retiree-friendly is Mississippi financially?
On paper, about as friendly as it gets: all retirement income (Social Security, pensions, 401(k)/IRA withdrawals) is exempt from state income tax, property tax runs 0.63% effective with an over-65 homestead exemption on the first $75,000 of value, and prices are the nation's second-lowest. The practical caveat is healthcare: specialist and hospital access outside Jackson and the Coast is thin and thinning, which for many retirees outweighs the tax math. Oxford and Madison County square the circle best.
What is the uninsured and healthcare picture?
Mississippi has not expanded Medicaid, and 11.8% of residents are uninsured, among the nation's highest rates. Rural hospitals operate under chronic financial strain, with repeated closures and service cuts (maternity wards especially), and the state ranks at or near the bottom on most health-outcome tables. Households with ongoing medical needs should weight proximity to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson or the Coast's hospital systems heavily in any move.
Who actually comes out ahead moving to Mississippi?
Three groups, cleanly: retirees with portable income, for whom the full retirement exemption plus the cheapest housing in America is close to unanswerable (pick Oxford, Madison or Ocean Springs for amenities); remote workers banking a national salary against the lowest price level after Arkansas; and Gulf Coast workers in shipbuilding, defense or casinos, where wages are regional but housing is not. Local-wage families face the same arithmetic the median income implies; the /calculator makes the comparison concrete.