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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Jackson to San Diego

Jackson, MS vs San Diego, CA

Simple answer

You'd likely save $1,534 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 114.5 points (Jackson 64.8, San Diego 179.3).

Mississippi taxes wages at a flat 4.00%. California taxes wages at rates up to 13.30%. Combined sales tax differs by 1.9 percentage points, higher in California. The effective property tax gap is 0.05 percentage points, higher in California.

After a move from Mississippi to California, these benefit results change for a family of four at $40,000 and a single adult at $18,000: Marketplace premium tax credits, Medicaid and CHIP.

A $75,000 salary in Jackson lines up with about $94,236 in San Diego on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

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

San Diego

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$2,823
HUD area
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA MSA
Census median gross rent
$2,336
All-items price parity
111.9
Goods price parity
108.0
Utilities price parity
174.2
Mean commute
26.1 min
Median household income
$109,132

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

$94,236

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

After state and federal tax

$100,705

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

Rent only

$164,255

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

TaxMississippiCalifornia
State income tax on wages4.00% flatup to 13.30%
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20267.1%9.0%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median0.65%0.71%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $2,619 a year in Mississippi and $2,828 in California. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in California

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

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    JacksonLikely eligible

    San DiegoLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    JacksonLikely eligible

    San DiegoLikely eligible

  • WIC

    JacksonLikely eligible

    San DiegoLikely eligible

  • School meals

    JacksonLikely eligible

    San DiegoLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    JacksonMaybe

    San DiegoMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    JacksonLikely eligible

    San DiegoLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    JacksonLikely eligible

    San DiegoLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    JacksonLikely eligible

    San DiegoUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    JacksonLikely eligible

    San DiegoLikely eligible

  • SSI

    JacksonUnlikely

    San DiegoUnlikely

Marketplace premium tax credits changes. In Jackson the result is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” In San Diego it is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” California expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.

Medicaid guide for California · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

From Jackson

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

Nearby metros

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