Moving to Mississippi
New residents should check the driver license deadline with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and must register a car within 30 days. Prices are 13.0% below the U.S. average, and a single filer earning $100,000 pays about $3,268 in Mississippi income tax. 30,358 households moved here from other states in 2022–2023, most often from Tennessee and Louisiana.
New resident checklist for Mississippi
Driver license
No fixed day count is published; check with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. With a valid out-of-state license the knowledge test is waived; with an expired license you take the knowledge exam. Bring proof of identity, your Social Security number and two proofs of your Mississippi address.
Vehicle title and registration
Register at the county Tax Collector within 30 days if your previous-state registration is current. Missing it brings standard late penalties plus a $250 penalty and loss of the Legislative Tag Credit. No state inspection. Switch your auto insurance to a Mississippi policy.
Taxes or fees on a car you bring: The Department of Revenue lists 'sales or use tax, if applicable' among tag costs and does not credit sales tax paid to another state (Mississippi's rate is 5%). Ask your county tax collector whether it applies to a vehicle you already own.
Annual registration: Registration fee is $14 first time and $12.75 at renewal. Added to that are privilege tax and county/city ad valorem tax based on vehicle value and your location, all paid yearly at the county Tax Collector.
Extra yearly fee for an electric vehicle: $150.
Establishing residency
Moving to Mississippi and garaging the vehicle there makes you a resident for tag purposes; register in the county where the car is kept overnight. Residency also decides where you pay income tax in the year you move; see taxes the year you move.
Your first-month checklist in Mississippi
- Register to vote at your new address.
- Update your address with the IRS (Form 8822), your employer and your bank.
- Make sure your employer withholds Mississippi income tax from your move date.
- Set up utilities and get renters or homeowners insurance. Owners with a mortgage here paid a median $1,765 a year for homeowners insurance in 2024 (Census ACS); premiums have risen in most states since, so get quotes.
- Keep your lease or closing papers and your license date as proof of when you became a resident.
Still planning the move itself? The moving out of state checklist covers the weeks before you go, and the moving timeline turns your move date into dated deadlines. Our guide to moving with pets covers vet records, travel and local pet rules. Shipping a car? See shipping a car to another state, or take the Where should I move? quiz.
Official site: dor.ms.gov. Sources: dor.ms.gov (2), driverservicebureau.dps.ms.gov, afdc.energy.gov, afdc.energy.gov (2). Reviewed 2026-09-25. Rules and fees change; confirm with the Mississippi motor vehicle agency before you go.
Compare your move to Mississippi
Pick the state you're leaving and your salary to see your take-home pay, rent and the salary that keeps your buying power the same in Mississippi.
Equal salary in MS: $68,400
To keep the same lifestyle, you need about $68,400 in Mississippi to match $70,000 in Tennessee ($1,600 less), after 2026 taxes and local prices.
Single filer, W-2 salary, standard deduction.
These changes cover taxes, housing and electricity. Food, transport, healthcare, other spending and one-time moving costs are excluded. They are not total savings. State medians may differ from your neighborhood and current quotes.
| Tax on $70,000 | Tennessee | Mississippi |
|---|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $6,570 | $6,570 |
| Social Security + Medicare | $5,355 | $5,355 |
| State income tax | $0 | $2,068 |
| State payroll programs (UI, disability, paid leave, transit) | $0 | $0 |
| Take-home pay | $58,075 | $56,007 |
Full reports for the most common moves to Mississippi: Tennessee to Mississippi, Louisiana to Mississippi, Texas to Mississippi, Alabama to Mississippi, Florida to Mississippi and Georgia to Mississippi.
Living in Mississippi: costs, taxes and risk
Of the 51 (the 50 states and D.C.), Mississippi is in the best 10 for overall prices, cost to own a home and rent, and in the worst 10 for household income and homeowners insurance.
- Median rent
- $990/mo U.S. $1,487
- Cost to own the median home
- $1,236/mo U.S. $2,298
- Take-home on $100,000
- $75,912 $834 more than in the median state
- Property tax (effective)
- 0.65% median $1,221/yr
- FEMA risk score
- 71.1 of 100 Above average for U.S. counties
- Moved in from other states
- 30,358 households, IRS 2022–2023
Pros and cons of living in Mississippi
How Mississippi ranks among all 51 (the 50 states and D.C.) on 11 measures of costs, taxes, risk and income. Top 10 means among the 10 best for someone moving in, Bottom 10 among the 10 worst.
Where Mississippi ranks best
- Top 5 Lowest overall prices: price level 87.0 (U.S. = 100, BEA 2024), 2nd lowest of 51.
- Top 5 Lowest cost to own a home: $1,236 a month for the median home with 20% down, 2nd lowest of 51.
- Top 5 Lowest rent: $990 a month at the median (Census ACS 2024), 5th lowest of 51.
Where Mississippi ranks worst
- Bottom 5 Lowest household incomes: $59,127 median household income (Census ACS 2024), the lowest of 51.
- Bottom 10 Highest homeowners insurance: $1,765 a year at the median for homes with a mortgage (Census ACS 2024), 10th highest of 51.
Measures: state income tax, overall prices, rent, cost to own a home, property tax rate, homeowners insurance, electric bills, car insurance, health premiums, natural hazard risk, household income. State income tax is for a single filer earning $100,000 under 2026 rules, including the average county income tax in Indiana and Maryland. Ties share a rank.
Where new Mississippi residents come from
In the latest IRS migration data (2022–2023), 30,358 households filed their taxes in Mississippi after filing in another state the year before. Tennessee sent the most, 5,685 households (19% of the total). Mississippi lost a net 3,125 households to other states that year.
Five-year trend
Moves to Mississippi from other states peaked in 2021–22 at 30,573 households, then held roughly steady to 30,358 in 2022–23, up 17% from 2018–19. Mississippi lost households to other states on net in all five years.
IRS SOI state-to-state migration files, tax years 2018–19 to 2022–23. Net gain or loss by year: 2018–19 −4,491, 2019–20 −2,752, 2020–21 −1,916, 2021–22 −1,608, 2022–23 −3,125.
Cost of living in Mississippi vs the U.S.
Overall prices in Mississippi are 13.0% below the U.S. average, 2nd cheapest of 51. The widest gap is in housing (56.5), 44% below the U.S. level.
The vertical line marks the U.S. average (100). BEA Regional Price Parities 2024.
- Average electric bill
- $155/mo U.S. $142
- Car insurance, per car
- $1,200/yr U.S. $1,282
- Health plan, age 40
- $662/mo U.S. $625
EIA 2024 average residential bills, NAIC 2023 average auto insurance expenditure, KFF 2026 benchmark silver Marketplace premium before subsidies.
Taxes in Mississippi: take-home pay at three incomes
Mississippi taxes wages. Here is what a single filer keeps after 2026 federal and state taxes, compared with the middle of all 51.
| Salary | MS income tax | Take-home | vs. median state |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $1,268 | $41,087 | +$309 |
| $100,000 | $3,268 | $75,912 | +$834 |
| $150,000 | $5,268 | $108,523 | +$937 |
Single filer, 2026 tax rules, standard deduction. Take-home is after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Mississippi income taxes. "vs. median state" is the difference from the median take-home of all 51 at the same salary. For married filing jointly, change the filing status in the calculator above.
The statewide sales tax rate is 7% before any local sales taxes. Homeowners pay a median $1,221 a year in property tax, 0.65% of the median home value (property tax by county). Retiring? See how Mississippi taxes Social Security and pensions. Moving mid-year? Read about taxes the year you move.
Cities in Mississippi: where a paycheck goes furthest
The Jackson metro area is the only one of the 149 U.S. metro areas we cover that is centered in Mississippi. About $68,200 there buys what $75,000 buys in an average-priced area with no state income tax.
| Metro area | Salary to match $75k | Price level | Median rent | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson | $68,200 | 89.0 | $1,100 | $210,000 |
Salary to match $75k: the pay that leaves the same after-tax, price-adjusted income as $75,000 in an area at U.S. average prices with no state income tax, single filer, including the principal city's own income tax where it has one. BEA 2024 price levels (U.S. = 100) and Census ACS 2024 rent and home values for each metro area.
Parts of Mississippi also belong to the Memphis metro area, which is centered outside Mississippi.
Housing and home insurance in Mississippi
| Measure | Mississippi | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Median rent (monthly) | $990 | $1,487 |
| Median home value | $186,500 | $360,600 |
| Monthly cost to own the median home (20% down) | $1,236 | $2,298 |
| Income needed to buy the median home | $52,991 | $98,486 |
| Median property tax (yearly) | $1,221 | $3,211 |
| Homeowners insurance (yearly median, homes with a mortgage) | $1,765 | $1,450 |
Census ACS 2024 rent, home value and property tax, and ACS 2024 homeowners insurance. Cost to own: principal and interest at the Freddie Mac 30-year average (6.95%) with 20% down, plus the median property tax and the median homeowners insurance paid by owners with a mortgage. Premiums have risen since 2024, especially in high-risk areas, so get quotes. See buying a home in Mississippi for other down payments.
Natural disaster risk in Mississippi
Mississippi's population-weighted score on FEMA's National Risk Index is 71.1 of 100, above average for U.S. counties and 13th safest of 51. Expected losses from natural hazards average about $555 per resident a year, and about 7% of residents live in counties FEMA rates relatively high or very high.
The vertical line marks the middle of U.S. counties (50).
See disaster risk for every Mississippi county and how to check a home's risk before you move.
Frequently asked questions
Where do people moving to Mississippi come from?
In IRS migration data for 2022–2023, 30,358 households moved to Mississippi from other states. The most came from Tennessee (5,685 households), Louisiana (3,689) and Texas (3,314).
What are the pros and cons of living in Mississippi?
Where Mississippi ranks best among the 50 states and D.C.: lowest overall prices, 2nd lowest of 51; lowest cost to own a home, 2nd lowest of 51; lowest rent, 5th lowest of 51. Where it ranks worst: lowest household incomes, the lowest of 51; highest homeowners insurance, 10th highest of 51.
Is Mississippi expensive to live in?
Overall prices in Mississippi are 13.0% below the U.S. average (BEA price level 87.0, 2024), 2nd cheapest of 51. Median rent is $990 a month and the median home is worth $186,500.
How long do I have to get a Mississippi driver license after moving?
No fixed day count is published; check with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. With a valid out-of-state license the knowledge test is waived; with an expired license you take the knowledge exam.
How long do I have to register my car in Mississippi?
30 days. Register at the county Tax Collector within 30 days if your previous-state registration is current. Missing it brings standard late penalties plus a $250 penalty and loss of the Legislative Tag Credit. No state inspection.
Do new residents pay tax on a car brought to Mississippi?
The Department of Revenue lists 'sales or use tax, if applicable' among tag costs and does not credit sales tax paid to another state (Mississippi's rate is 5%). Ask your county tax collector whether it applies to a vehicle you already own.
What makes me a Mississippi resident?
Moving to Mississippi and garaging the vehicle there makes you a resident for tag purposes; register in the county where the car is kept overnight.