Living in Jackson, MS

Crime in Jackson runs a bit below the national average. The violent crime index is 76 (100 is the U.S. baseline), with property crime at 110. That puts it in a decent spot — not the safest metro in the country, but meaningfully better than the midpoint. Neighborhood choice still matters, especially if you have kids or walk home late. FBI Uniform Crime Report data.

It depends on your income, but the city-wide numbers are starting to feel tight. Median rent is $1,018/month against $43,238/year in household income — a 28.3% rent-to-income ratio. That's right at the line where financial advisors start raising eyebrows. You can make it work, especially with a roommate or dual income, but single earners at the median may feel squeezed. Some neighborhoods are cheaper than others, so shop around. Census ACS 2023.

Most people in Jackson are at work within 19 minutes — a pretty reasonable commute by American standards. The breakdown: 75.1% drive alone, 0.6% take public transit, and 8.1% work from home. Rush hour adds time, obviously, but the baseline is manageable.

Everything on this page is built from public government sources: rent and income figures from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS 5-Year Estimates, 2023); commute and transportation data from Census ACS tables B08303 and B08006; crime rates from the FBI Uniform Crime Report. We refresh each dataset monthly through an automated pipeline and cross-check for anomalies. No surveys, no user-submitted guesses — just official federal data presented in a way that's actually useful for people researching a move.