Jackson composite
52.3 /100
Grade B · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Jackson vs Midland
Jackson, MI and Midland, MI side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 52.3
- Jackson Life Score
- B
- Jackson grade
- 55.0
- Midland Life Score
- B+
- Midland grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Jackson scores higher on 4 (cost of living, rent, safety, childcare) and Midland on 3 (wages, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Jackson Midland ◗
cost of living
64
63
wages
46
66
rent
71
64
safety
21
20
schools
73
73
childcare
81
81
environment
10
11
Jackson and Midland differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Jackson has a cost-of-living index of 91.8 vs Midland's 91.9 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $63,665 in Jackson and $67,285 in Midland. A 2-bedroom averages $1,165/mo vs $1,193/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Jackson vs Midland Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Jackson and Midland works out to $336 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Jackson carries the same local purchasing power as $100,155 in Midland - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 431.4 per 100,000 residents in MI vs 431.4 in MI, with property-crime rates of 1395.3 and 1395.3 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: MI lists 3,399 public schools at a 16.7:1 student-teacher ratio, while MI lists 3,399 schools at 16.7:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $7,444/yr in the Jackson area versus $7,444/yr in Midland - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Jackson and Midland are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Midland composite
55.0 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
1 pts
Midland cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
1 pts
Jackson safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Jackson
Jackson composite (Grade B)
Midland
Midland composite (Grade B+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Jackson | Midland |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 91.8 | 91.9 |
| Goods | 93.7 | 93.7 |
| Services | 97.8 | 95.2 |
| Rents | 67.1 | 66.7 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Midland gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Jackson?
$
Equivalent in Midland:
$100,155
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Jackson: 91.8, Midland: 91.9, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Jackson | Midland |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $838/mo | $907/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $946/mo | $925/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,165/mo | $1,193/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,534/mo | $1,518/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,626/mo | $1,682/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Jackson | Midland |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $63,665 | $67,285 |
| Total Employment | 47,640 | 29,130 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Jackson (MI) | Midland (MI) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 431.4 | 431.4 |
| Property Crime | 1395.3 | 1395.3 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | MI | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 3,399 | 3,399 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 16.7:1 | 16.7:1 |
| Charter Schools | 10.9% | 10.9% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | MI | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,444/yr | $7,444/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,636/yr | $7,636/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,221/yr | $7,221/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | MI | MI |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 918 | 918 |
| Water Systems | 1,434 | 1,434 |
| Superfund Sites | 90 | 90 |
| Water Violations | 1,120 | 1,120 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Jackson | Midland |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 37.7 | 37.7 |
| Good Air Days | 76.9% | 76.9% |
Air quality shown at state level (no metro-specific AQI monitoring data available).
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | MI | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 18/100 | 18/100 |
| Total Violations | 255,201 | 255,201 |
| Health-Based Violations | 31,467 | 31,467 |
| Systems with Violations | 86.1% | 86.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | MI | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 88/100 | 88/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| HPSA Designations | 793 | 793 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | MI | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 64/100 | 64/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 49.6 | 49.6 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 49.0 | 49.0 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Jackson more expensive than Midland? ▼
Jackson has a cost of living index of 91.8 compared to Midland's 91.9 (national average = 100). Midland is 0.1 points above Jackson on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Jackson and Midland? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,165/mo in Jackson vs $1,193/mo in Midland, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $838/mo to $907/mo.
How do salaries compare between Jackson and Midland? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $63,665 in Jackson and $67,285 in Midland, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Jackson has the same purchasing power as $100,155 in Midland.
Is Jackson or Midland safer? ▼
At the state level, MI has a violent crime rate of 431.4 per 100,000 residents compared to MI's 431.4 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1395.3 vs 1395.3 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Jackson and Midland? ▼
MI has 3,399 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 16.7:1, while MI has 3,399 schools at 16.7:1. Charter schools make up 10.9% of MI schools vs 10.9% in MI. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare