Moving to Mississippi from Minnesota
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Minnesota to Mississippi — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Minnesota to Mississippi, you would find that Mississippi is 9.7% cheaper than Minnesota. A $75,000 salary in Minnesota would need to be roughly $67,700 in Mississippi to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Jackson averages 76°F vs 56°F in Saint Paul, making it significantly warmer.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Minnesota to Mississippi.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $67,700
To maintain the same standard of living in Mississippi
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 10.0% less
Groceries
pay 11.5% less
Transportation
pay 0.9% less
Housing
pay 10.5% less
Childcare
pay 23.1% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 23.6% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Mississippi cost about 6% less than cities in Minnesota.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Minnesota and Mississippi stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Mississippi performs significantly better than Minnesota across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Minnesota performs better than Mississippi across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Mississippi generally does better on what about housing?, though Minnesota leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Minnesota performs better than Mississippi across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Minnesota generally does better on employment & economy, though Mississippi leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Minnesota performs better than Mississippi across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Saint Paul | Jackson |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 32°/16°F (0°/-9°C) | 62°/41°F (17°/5°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 69°/50°F (21°/10°C) | 83°/62°F (28°/17°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 79°/60°F (26°/16°C) | 90°/70°F (32°/21°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 43°/27°F (6°/-3°C) | 67°/46°F (20°/8°C) |
View all months
| Month | Saint Paul | Jackson |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25°/9°F (-4.1°/-12.6°C) | 56°/37°F (13.6°/2.7°C) |
| Feb | 30°/14°F (-1.3°/-9.9°C) | 61°/40°F (16.1°/4.6°C) |
| Mar | 42°/26°F (5.5°/-3.6°C) | 68°/47°F (20.2°/8.2°C) |
| Apr | 58°/39°F (14.7°/3.9°C) | 76°/54°F (24.4°/12.1°C) |
| May | 70°/50°F (21.2°/10.0°C) | 83°/63°F (28.3°/17.1°C) |
| Jun | 79°/60°F (26.0°/15.4°C) | 89°/69°F (31.8°/20.8°C) |
| Jul | 83°/65°F (28.5°/18.1°C) | 92°/72°F (33.1°/22.4°C) |
| Aug | 81°/62°F (27.1°/16.8°C) | 92°/72°F (33.1°/22.2°C) |
| Sep | 72°/53°F (22.2°/11.7°C) | 87°/66°F (30.3°/18.9°C) |
| Oct | 59°/40°F (14.8°/4.7°C) | 77°/55°F (25.1°/12.8°C) |
| Nov | 42°/28°F (5.6°/-2.4°C) | 67°/45°F (19.7°/7.3°C) |
| Dec | 28°/14°F (-2.5°/-10.1°C) | 58°/39°F (14.7°/3.9°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Mississippi than Minnesota?
Generally yes: Mississippi runs about 10% cheaper than Minnesota on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Mississippi?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $16,925 in Mississippi for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Mississippi safe?
Mississippi performs significantly better than Minnesota across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Mississippi compared to Minnesota?
Minnesota performs better than Mississippi across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Mississippi compared to Minnesota?
The average high temperature in Jackson is 76°F, compared to 56°F in Saint Paul. Jackson receives around 54.3 in of rainfall per year, while Saint Paul gets 28.5 in.
