Before you decide to relocate to Mississippi, it’s important to research the exact cost of living around the state. And that’s what we’re going to help you do.
These are the places in Mississippi that cost a pretty penny — the most expensive cities in the state.
We used Saturday Night Science to compare the 2020-2024 American Community Survey on cost of living for the 61 places in Mississippi with more than 5,000 people.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in Mississippi for 2026.
$119,338 median income · $410,432 median home · #2 home prices in Mississippi
Located in
Madison County, Mississippi
Madison is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,841 at the 2010 census. The population is currently over 25,000. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$64,451 median income · $412,781 median home · #1 home prices in Mississippi
Located in
Lafayette County, Mississippi
Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$100,606 median income · $331,685 median home · #4 home prices in Mississippi
Located in
DeSoto County, Mississippi
Olive Branch is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 33,484 at the 2010 census, up from 21,054 in 2000. Olive Branch is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, and is part of the Memphis Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region that consists of three counties in southwest Tennessee, five counties in northwest Mississippi, and two counties in eastern Arkansas. From 1990 to 2010 Olive Branch was the fastest growing city in the United States, with a growth rate of 838%. Along with other rapidly growing suburbs in DeSoto County, Olive Branch attributes most of its growth and development to the exodus of large numbers of middle-class families from central Memphis.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$76,950 median income · $344,672 median home · #3 home prices in Mississippi
Located in
DeSoto County, Mississippi
Hernando is a city in and the county seat of DeSoto County, which is on the northwest border of Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,090 at the 2010 census, up from 6,812 in 2000. DeSoto County is the second-most-populous county in the Memphis metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$83,880 median income · $328,702 median home · #5 home prices in Mississippi
Located in
Rankin County, Mississippi
Flowood is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi. The population was 7,823 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$66,038 median income · $282,705 median home · #8 home prices in Mississippi
Located in
Madison County, Mississippi
Ridgeland is a city in Madison County, Mississippi. The population was 24,047 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$92,783 median income · $284,755 median home · #7 home prices in Mississippi
Located in
Rankin County, Mississippi
Brandon is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi. The population was 21,705 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Rankin County. Brandon is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area and located east of the state capital.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$67,442 median income · $236,958 median home · #15 home prices in Mississippi
Located in
Hancock County, Mississippi
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$79,712 median income · $270,588 median home · #11 home prices in Mississippi
Located in
Jackson County, Mississippi
Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, approximately 2 miles east of Biloxi and west of Gautier. It is part of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 17,225 at the 2000 U.S. Census. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the city of Ocean Springs had a population of 17,442.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$78,212 median income · $302,881 median home · #6 home prices in Mississippi
Pass Christian, nicknamed The Pass, is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Gulfport-Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,613 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Mississippi’s statewide median.
Mississippi statewide median: $192,906
Mississippi statewide median: $56,447
On the map
Mapping the most expensive places in Mississippi
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Magnolia State For 2026
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford a city in Mississippi are how much money you make and how much you have to spend to live there.
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing, it’s actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2020-2024 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Overall Cost Of Living Index
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Mississippi to figure out which is the most expensive.
You are left with a “Cost of Living Index” by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index to rank all of the 61 places in Mississippi that have more than 5,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in Mississippi according to the data is Madison. We updated this article for 2026. This article is our eleventh time ranking the most expensive places to live in Mississippi. The median Mississippi home is 39 years old — old enough that it pays to compare home warranty plans before something expensive breaks.
The full plate
Most Expensive Cities In Mississippi
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Cost Of Living | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price | Home/Income Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madison | 112 | 27,946 | $119,338 | $410,432 | 3.4x |
| 2 | Oxford | 107 | 26,411 | $64,451 | $412,781 | 6.4x |
| 3 | Olive Branch | 103 | 47,019 | $100,606 | $331,685 | 3.3x |
| 4 | Hernando | 102 | 17,949 | $76,950 | $344,672 | 4.5x |
| 5 | Flowood | 101 | 10,587 | $83,880 | $328,702 | 3.9x |
| 6 | Ridgeland | 100 | 24,587 | $66,038 | $282,705 | 4.3x |
| 7 | Brandon | 99 | 25,542 | $92,783 | $284,755 | 3.1x |
| 8 | Bay St. Louis | 99 | 10,188 | $67,442 | $236,958 | 3.5x |
| 9 | Ocean Springs | 98 | 18,646 | $79,712 | $270,588 | 3.4x |
| 10 | Pass Christian | 98 | 6,097 | $78,212 | $302,881 | 3.9x |
| 11 | Long Beach | 96 | 17,009 | $70,332 | $232,929 | 3.3x |
| 12 | D’Iberville | 96 | 13,203 | $66,016 | $238,690 | 3.6x |
| 13 | Southaven | 95 | 56,226 | $78,483 | $274,141 | 3.5x |
| 14 | Biloxi | 94 | 48,861 | $57,204 | $232,658 | 4.1x |
| 15 | Clinton | 94 | 27,195 | $74,745 | $237,467 | 3.2x |
| 16 | Starkville | 94 | 25,721 | $42,125 | $279,620 | 6.6x |
| 17 | Byram | 93 | 12,799 | $70,445 | $222,108 | 3.2x |
| 18 | Diamondhead | 93 | 9,338 | $87,407 | $244,374 | 2.8x |
| 19 | Gulfport | 92 | 73,003 | $49,919 | $200,520 | 4.0x |
| 20 | Tupelo | 92 | 37,791 | $66,257 | $203,314 | 3.1x |
| 21 | Gautier | 92 | 19,046 | $61,926 | $190,096 | 3.1x |
| 22 | Senatobia | 92 | 8,380 | $54,167 | $236,534 | 4.4x |
| 23 | Batesville | 92 | 7,387 | $51,727 | $200,429 | 3.9x |
| 24 | Columbus | 90 | 23,348 | $42,235 | $172,832 | 4.1x |
| 25 | Petal | 90 | 11,294 | $74,750 | $223,366 | 3.0x |
| 26 | Cleveland | 90 | 10,623 | $44,074 | $143,488 | 3.3x |
| 27 | Richland | 90 | 7,346 | $66,558 | $217,271 | 3.3x |
| 28 | Pearl | 89 | 27,737 | $61,695 | $205,783 | 3.3x |
| 29 | Horn Lake | 89 | 26,647 | $53,311 | $202,373 | 3.8x |
| 30 | Corinth | 89 | 14,323 | $44,226 | $181,417 | 4.1x |
| 31 | Booneville | 89 | 9,246 | $50,879 | $140,559 | 2.8x |
| 32 | Waveland | 89 | 7,062 | $68,693 | $210,333 | 3.1x |
| 33 | Pontotoc | 88 | 5,806 | $46,167 | $201,463 | 4.4x |
| 34 | Hattiesburg | 87 | 48,619 | $46,342 | $220,234 | 4.8x |
| 35 | Pascagoula | 87 | 21,710 | $52,222 | $143,032 | 2.7x |
| 36 | Grenada | 87 | 12,375 | $46,303 | $133,953 | 2.9x |
| 37 | McComb | 87 | 12,049 | $40,707 | $89,933 | 2.2x |
| 38 | Jackson | 86 | 146,631 | $42,071 | $87,256 | 2.1x |
| 39 | Vicksburg | 86 | 20,589 | $45,781 | $145,564 | 3.2x |
| 40 | Amory | 86 | 6,500 | $52,901 | $157,258 | 3.0x |
| 41 | Louisville | 86 | 5,983 | $36,985 | $139,871 | 3.8x |
| 42 | Ripley | 86 | 5,377 | $55,444 | $138,469 | 2.5x |
| 43 | Greenville | 85 | 28,166 | $40,083 | $61,070 | 1.5x |
| 44 | Laurel | 85 | 17,679 | $47,661 | $147,337 | 3.1x |
| 45 | Moss Point | 85 | 11,957 | $44,296 | $146,443 | 3.3x |
| 46 | Picayune | 85 | 11,900 | $41,213 | $193,808 | 4.7x |
| 47 | West Point | 85 | 9,900 | $38,064 | $143,439 | 3.8x |
| 48 | New Albany | 85 | 7,663 | $51,332 | $199,590 | 3.9x |
| 49 | Forest | 85 | 5,357 | $49,724 | $122,992 | 2.5x |
| 50 | Meridian | 84 | 34,137 | $36,562 | $113,056 | 3.1x |
| 51 | Greenwood | 84 | 14,086 | $35,473 | $87,553 | 2.5x |
| 52 | Brookhaven | 84 | 11,650 | $36,685 | $160,659 | 4.4x |
| 53 | Canton | 84 | 10,811 | $38,337 | $223,700 | 5.8x |
| 54 | Indianola | 84 | 9,062 | $41,708 | $103,788 | 2.5x |
| 55 | Holly Springs | 84 | 6,704 | $45,462 | $175,426 | 3.9x |
| 56 | Clarksdale | 82 | 14,231 | $36,382 | $42,685 | 1.2x |
| 57 | Natchez | 82 | 14,192 | $36,735 | $117,030 | 3.2x |
| 58 | Philadelphia | 82 | 6,996 | $50,788 | $137,663 | 2.7x |
| 59 | Kosciusko | 82 | 6,933 | $40,085 | $113,939 | 2.8x |
| 60 | Yazoo City | 79 | 10,219 | $28,157 | $73,051 | 2.6x |
| 61 | Columbia | 79 | 6,632 | $38,507 | $133,498 | 3.5x |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, Zillow research. 61 places with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Mississippi For 2026
Well, there you have it, the places in Mississippi that have the highest cost of living, with Madison ranking as the most expensive city in the Magnolia State.
The most expensive cities in Mississippi are Madison, Oxford, Olive Branch, Hernando, Flowood, Ridgeland, Brandon, Bay St. Louis, Ocean Springs, and Pass Christian. Not sold on Mississippi? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Most Expensive Places In Mississippi FAQs
What is the most expensive place to live in Mississippi?
Madison is the most expensive place to live in Mississippi for 2026. The median home there runs $410,432, and it posts the highest cost of living of the 61 places we scored.
What are the 10 most expensive cities in Mississippi?
The ten most expensive cities in Mississippi are Madison, Oxford, Olive Branch, Hernando, Flowood, Ridgeland, Brandon, Bay St. Louis, Ocean Springs, and Pass Christian. We ranked all 61 places with more than 5,000 residents on home prices, incomes, and an overall cost of living index.
How expensive are homes in Madison?
The median home value in Madison is $410,432, versus $192,906 across Mississippi as a whole. Across the ten most expensive cities, the median home runs $315,792.
What salary do you need to live in the most expensive parts of Mississippi?
The median household income in the ten most expensive Mississippi cities starts at $64,451, and in Madison it is $119,338. If your paycheck is closer to the statewide median of $56,447, these places will squeeze your budget.
What is the cheapest place to live in Mississippi?
Columbia is the cheapest of the 61 Mississippi places we ranked on cost of living. It sits at the very bottom of the same index that put Madison on top.
