Moving to Arizona from Mississippi
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Mississippi to Arizona — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Mississippi to Arizona, you would find that Arizona is 21.9% more expensive than Mississippi. A $75,000 salary in Mississippi would need to be roughly $91,400 in Arizona to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Phoenix averages 87°F vs 76°F in Jackson, making it significantly warmer. Jackson and Phoenix are about 1,250 mi apart.
Is Arizona cheaper than Mississippi?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 18.8% more
Groceries
pay 11.7% more
Transportation
pay 1.5% less
Housing
pay 49.0% more
Childcare
pay 17.5% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 21.2% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Arizona?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $91,400
To maintain the same standard of living in Arizona
Calculate with your salary →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 Arizona cost about 11% more than cities in Mississippi.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Mississippi to Arizona.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Mississippi performs better than Arizona 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
Arizona performs significantly 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 performs better than Arizona across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Arizona performs significantly 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
Arizona 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
Arizona performs significantly 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
Weather in Arizona vs Mississippi
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Jackson | Phoenix |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 62°/41°F (17°/5°C) | 73°/49°F (23°/10°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 83°/62°F (28°/17°C) | 95°/69°F (35°/20°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 90°/70°F (32°/21°C) | 103°/80°F (40°/27°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 67°/46°F (20°/8°C) | 77°/54°F (25°/12°C) |
View all months
| Month | Jackson | Phoenix |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56°/37°F (13.6°/2.7°C) | 69°/46°F (20.3°/7.6°C) |
| Feb | 61°/40°F (16.1°/4.6°C) | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.3°C) |
| Mar | 68°/47°F (20.2°/8.2°C) | 78°/53°F (25.7°/11.9°C) |
| Apr | 76°/54°F (24.4°/12.1°C) | 86°/60°F (29.9°/15.7°C) |
| May | 83°/63°F (28.3°/17.1°C) | 95°/69°F (34.8°/20.6°C) |
| Jun | 89°/69°F (31.8°/20.8°C) | 104°/77°F (39.9°/25.1°C) |
| Jul | 92°/72°F (33.1°/22.4°C) | 106°/83°F (41.0°/28.1°C) |
| Aug | 92°/72°F (33.1°/22.2°C) | 104°/82°F (40.1°/27.8°C) |
| Sep | 87°/66°F (30.3°/18.9°C) | 100°/75°F (37.8°/24.1°C) |
| Oct | 77°/55°F (25.1°/12.8°C) | 89°/64°F (31.8°/18.0°C) |
| Nov | 67°/45°F (19.7°/7.3°C) | 76°/52°F (24.7°/11.1°C) |
| Dec | 58°/39°F (14.7°/3.9°C) | 67°/45°F (19.6°/7.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Arizona than Mississippi?
No — Arizona is on average about 22% more expensive than Mississippi. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Arizona?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $22,850 in Arizona on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Arizona safe?
Mississippi performs better than Arizona across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Arizona compared to Mississippi?
Arizona performs significantly better than Mississippi across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Arizona compared to Mississippi?
The average high temperature in Phoenix is 87°F, compared to 76°F in Jackson. Phoenix receives around 8.2 in of rainfall per year, while Jackson gets 54.3 in.
