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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Charleston to Jackson

Charleston, SC vs Jackson, MS

Simple answer

You'd likely save $595 a month in Jackson.

This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.

The largest cost gap in this pair is housing prices. The BEA housing price parity differs by 55.0 points (Charleston 119.8, Jackson 64.8).

South Carolina taxes wages at rates up to 6.00%. Mississippi taxes wages at a flat 4.00%. Combined sales tax differs by 0.4 percentage points, higher in South Carolina. The effective property tax gap is 0.21 percentage points, higher in Mississippi.

After a move from South Carolina to Mississippi, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.

A $75,000 salary in Charleston lines up with about $66,150 in Jackson on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

Charleston

Charleston-North Charleston, SC

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,884
HUD area
Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA
Census median gross rent
$1,714
All-items price parity
101.0
Goods price parity
96.3
Utilities price parity
88.2
Mean commute
29.4 min
Median household income
$90,307

Jackson

Jackson, MS

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,289
HUD area
Jackson, MS HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,100
All-items price parity
89.0
Goods price parity
96.2
Utilities price parity
78.1
Mean commute
24.9 min
Median household income
$64,835

Equivalent salary

The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.

Same buying power

$66,150

Salary in Jackson that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.

After state and federal tax

$63,476

Gross salary in Jackson whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.

Rent only

$51,314

Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.

Taxes on the two sides of the move

TaxSouth CarolinaMississippi
State income tax on wagesup to 6.00%4.00% flat
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20267.5%7.1%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median0.45%0.65%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $1,786 a year in South Carolina and $2,619 in Mississippi. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in Mississippi

Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in South Carolina and once in Mississippi. This is an illustration, not your application.

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    CharlestonLikely eligible

    JacksonLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    CharlestonLikely eligible

    JacksonLikely eligible

  • WIC

    CharlestonLikely eligible

    JacksonLikely eligible

  • School meals

    CharlestonLikely eligible

    JacksonLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    CharlestonMaybe

    JacksonMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    CharlestonLikely eligible

    JacksonLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    CharlestonLikely eligible

    JacksonLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    CharlestonLikely eligible

    JacksonLikely eligible

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    CharlestonLikely eligible

    JacksonLikely eligible

  • SSI

    CharlestonUnlikely

    JacksonUnlikely

At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.

Medicaid guide for Mississippi · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

From Charleston

The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Charleston.

Nearby metros

How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.