Moving to Ohio from Mississippi
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Mississippi to Ohio — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Mississippi to Ohio, you would find that Ohio is 3.9% more expensive than Mississippi. A $75,000 salary in Mississippi would need to be roughly $77,900 in Ohio to maintain the same lifestyle. Jackson and Columbus are about 660 mi apart.
Is Ohio cheaper than Mississippi?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 1.3% less
Groceries
pay 6.1% more
Transportation
pay 4.3% more
Housing
pay 2.6% more
Childcare
pay 34.9% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.0% 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 Ohio?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $77,900
To maintain the same standard of living in Ohio
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 Ohio cost about 4% less than cities in Mississippi.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Mississippi to Ohio.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Mississippi performs better than Ohio 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
Ohio generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Mississippi leads in adult smoking rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Mississippi performs better than Ohio across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Ohio 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
Ohio 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
Ohio 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 Ohio vs Mississippi
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Jackson | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 62°/41°F (17°/5°C) | 63°/41°F (17°/5°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 83°/62°F (28°/17°C) | 84°/62°F (29°/16°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 90°/70°F (32°/21°C) | 90°/71°F (32°/21°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 67°/46°F (20°/8°C) | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) |
View all months
| Month | Jackson | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56°/37°F (13.6°/2.7°C) | 58°/37°F (14.2°/2.7°C) |
| Feb | 61°/40°F (16.1°/4.6°C) | 62°/40°F (16.7°/4.5°C) |
| Mar | 68°/47°F (20.2°/8.2°C) | 69°/46°F (20.8°/7.8°C) |
| Apr | 76°/54°F (24.4°/12.1°C) | 77°/53°F (24.8°/11.4°C) |
| May | 83°/63°F (28.3°/17.1°C) | 84°/62°F (28.9°/16.6°C) |
| Jun | 89°/69°F (31.8°/20.8°C) | 90°/70°F (32.2°/20.9°C) |
| Jul | 92°/72°F (33.1°/22.4°C) | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 92°/72°F (33.1°/22.2°C) | 91°/72°F (33.0°/22.4°C) |
| Sep | 87°/66°F (30.3°/18.9°C) | 86°/67°F (30.2°/19.3°C) |
| Oct | 77°/55°F (25.1°/12.8°C) | 77°/56°F (25.2°/13.1°C) |
| Nov | 67°/45°F (19.7°/7.3°C) | 68°/46°F (20.2°/7.8°C) |
| Dec | 58°/39°F (14.7°/3.9°C) | 59°/39°F (15.2°/3.8°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Ohio than Mississippi?
No — Ohio is on average about 4% more expensive than Mississippi. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Ohio?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $19,475 in Ohio on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Ohio safe?
Mississippi performs better than Ohio across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Ohio compared to Mississippi?
Ohio generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Mississippi leads in adult smoking rate.
What's the weather like in Ohio compared to Mississippi?
The average high temperature in Columbus is 76°F, compared to 76°F in Jackson. Columbus receives around 46.8 in of rainfall per year, while Jackson gets 54.3 in.
