Is Mississippi a Good Deal or a Trade-off?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#49

49th out of 50 states overall.

Among the worst in the country for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#5

5th cheapest state, about 19% below average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $60,600 here.

How we measure cost ›

Mississippi ranks 49th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 5th for affordability. It does best on cost, climate, and air quality, and struggles most with dog friendly, safety, and walkability. A typical household earns about $59,100 a year, and the cost of living runs about 19% below average.

Why Mississippi ranks #49 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Mississippi scores on each, best to worst.

Cost of living
#5 of 50
Climate
#28 of 50
Air quality
#39 of 50
Green space
#45 of 50
Education
#47 of 50
Healthcare
#49 of 50
Economy
#49 of 50
Dog friendly
#49 of 50
Safety
#50 of 50
Walkability
#50 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Mississippi at a glance

Typical household income

$59,100

48th highest

Typical home price

$264,000

38th highest

Overall cost of living

19% below average

5th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 8%

29th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 25 min

one way

Taxes in Mississippi

See your real Mississippi take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Mississippi taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.