How much do households in Mississippi spend on rent?
About $873 per month, or 31.3% of their income, in 2022. This percentage is measured by comparing the median, or average, rent and the median monthly income for renting households.
Showing data for
In 2022, median rent was
31.3%
of median income
In 2022,
$873
was the median rent per month
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability. Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates it’s more affordable.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing, to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of average monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.
Mississippi's rent-to-income ratio was lower than in the US overall in 2022.
Ratio of median gross rent to median renter household income
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The national rent-to-income ratio reached a high of 33.8% in 2011 following the Great Recession. In Mississippi, the rent-to-income ratio reached 37.6% that year. Most recently, in 2022, Mississippi’s rent-to-income ratio was 31.3%, 0.4 percentage points lower than the national rate.
Across metro areas, the average rent-to-income ratio was 30.8% in 2018–2022.
Ratio of median gross rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
In 2018–2022, the average rent-to-income ratio across metro areas was 30.8%. The metro areas with the highest and lowest ratios were the Mayagüez, Puerto Rico area at 56.9% (highest) and Sheboygan, Wisconsin area, at 21.7% (lowest). In Mississippi, the highest and lowest ratios were in the Jackson, MS area at 34.4% and Gulfport, MS area at 32.2%.
During that period, the Jackson, Mississippi area had the highest median rent at $1,012 per month, while the Gulfport, Mississippi area had the highest median monthly income at $3,137 among the three Mississippi metro areas. The Jackson, MS area's rent-to-income ratio was the highest in the state.
Renter income and rent, Mississippi metro areas (2018–2022)
| 1. | Gulfport, MS area | $3,137 |
| 2. | Hattiesburg, MS area | $2,763 |
| 3. | Jackson, MS area | $2,941 |
