Metro Life Score
Jackson, MS
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade B+, 81st percentile of the national corpus.
- 58.1
- Life Score / 100
- B+
- Grade (curved)
- #75
- of 387 metros
- 81%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Jackson is top-quartile composite Life Score — #75 of 387 (58.1/100, grade B+, 81st percentile). Carried by childcare at 98/100; held back most by wages at 14/100.
- 81st
- composite percentile
- #75
- of 387 peers
- 80th
- cost dimension percentile
- 14th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature wages
Jackson: wage lag defines the peer set
Jackson is a UPPER-band metro where wages sit at only the 14th percentile (LOW) while cost is CHEAP (80th) and composite #75. Wages at 14/100 is the clearest drag; Childcare (98/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Jackson, MS ranks #75 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #78 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 89.0 (rent-RPP 64.8). BLS median salary $57,904, 261,190 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,288/mo (studio $1,091).
FBI UCR (MS): 143 violent, 953 property/100K. NCES: 13.9:1 ratio, 0.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,498/yr. EPA: 14 Superfund sites (MS).
Where Jackson sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
58 Top 19% higher than 81% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 58.1 is built
Jackson's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Jackson scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MS state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Jackson With...
Ranking Context
Jackson outranks 81% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #72 | Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL | 58.2 | B+ |
| #73 | Lawrence, KS | 58.4 | B+ |
| #74 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | 58.5 | B+ |
| #75 | Jackson, MS | 58.1 | B+ |
| #76 | Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 58.1 | B+ |
| #77 | Gadsden, AL | 58.1 | B+ |
| #78 | Enid, OK * | 58.0 | B+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Jackson, MS's quality rank (top 19% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 20% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
MS Metro Scores
Read with Jackson
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Jackson (UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
ABS(composite) peer at 58.1 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Gadsden, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 58.1 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Enid, OK *
ABS(composite) peer at 58.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 58.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 80/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 80/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Jackson, MS relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Jackson's top-third Life Score
Jackson scores 58.1/100 overall, but Childcare (98.2) and Wages (13.7) sit 84.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Jackson's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Hattiesburg is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Hattiesburg
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.