South ranking
6 Mississippi cities ranked by cost of living, cheapest first.
Index 80
Index 89
Sorted by cost-of-living index — lowest (most affordable) first.
Mississippi has a handful of real selling points, and they're concrete rather than vague. Your dollar goes further here and hattiesburg is one of the most affordable cities in the us are the headliners, plus 1 more.
Mississippi's cost-of-living average comes in around 84 on the composite index, about 16% below the national average. Housing is doing most of the work; groceries and services follow at smaller gaps. Average median rent across Mississippi cities runs about $1,107/mo.
Hattiesburg ranks as Mississippi's most affordable city at a composite cost index of 80 (20% below US average). Worth a look as a baseline for the cost ceiling — most of the rest of the state's cities are more expensive than this, not less.
Living in Mississippi puts Gulf of Mexico coastline within driving range of most of the state. The practical upshot: weekend beach trips, easier access to seafood that hasn't been on a truck for a week, and a milder climate near the coast than the same latitude would have inland.
Reasons reflect aggregated city data for Mississippi (Census ACS, BLS, BEA) plus well-known state-level geography. We only list points that are actually supported — different states show different sections.
Across Mississippi, Hattiesburg is the most affordable city we track (cost index 80, with median rent around $936/mo), while Olive Branch sits at the top of the range with an index of 89—roughly 11% pricier than Hattiesburg. Use the table above to compare any Mississippi city directly against Hattiesburg.
The other end of the ranking — priciest first.