Jackson, MS

Metro Area Profile

611,324 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Jackson, MS metropolitan area.

61out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 39% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity231st of 379 published metros50
GrowthTop 40% of 821 published metros56
Housing affordability507th of 822 published metros91
ClimateTop 29% of 822 published metros73
Physical resilience524th of 822 published metros46
AccessTop 17% of 822 published metros95
Economic stability596th of 822 published metros36
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.9% and median household income $61,644, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published metro profiles.

Rent takes 21% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.3 times that income.

A major airport is 9 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
611,324
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$61,644
Bottom 32% nationally
Density
102/sq mi
6014.2 sq mi of land
Median age
38.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Jackson, MS
Nearest major airport
JAN
9 mi · Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers Intl
Median home value
$200,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.9% is lower than 66% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 2.0% over the past year, to 271,373 employed residents.

32% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 74% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,292$61,644Bottom 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$652$34,708Bottom 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate17.7%Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute26.5 minTop 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher32.2%Top 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment271,373Top 26%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)0.8%Top 41%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-2.0%Bottom 19%June 2026
Labor force282,281Top 26%June 2026
Labor force participation59.7%Bottom 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$53,990Bottom 12%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$42,850Bottom 10%2025 OEWS
Metro employment270,730Top 24%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.2%Bottom 37%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.9%Bottom 34%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/066.42.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.9% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Jackson, MS
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons8,770$29,070
Registered Nurses8,700$82,630
Fast Food and Counter Workers8,460$22,630
Home Health and Personal Care Aides7,800$23,130
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers6,590$58,100
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand5,890$36,910

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,072 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.3 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
20.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.3×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,072
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$200,500
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.25Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate67.5%Bottom 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±257271,927Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$16$1,072Top 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$3,987$200,500Bottom 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income20.9%Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate12.5%Top 43%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
56/ 100
Top 40% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 2% since 2020, reaching 606,178 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 5% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 3.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
1,979
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.2
Top 40% nationally
Year over year
+86%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
5.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024619k606k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 38°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 51.3 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station JACKSON HAWKINS FLD, 7.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation51.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low38°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing35°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

46 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and hail.

HailElevated
TornadoElevated
Strong windElevated
LightningModerate
Ice stormModerate
Cold waveModerate
HurricaneModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Inland floodingModerate
DroughtModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, winter weather, wildfire.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 9 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers IntlJAN9 mi8,500 ft
Greenville Mid-DeltaGLH88 mi8,001 ft
Golden Triangle RgnlGTR114 mi8,003 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
61
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.