How much do households in Mississippi spend on rent?
Data updated September 16, 2024
In 2022, the median monthly rent in Mississippi was about $873, which accounted for 31.3% of renters' income. This percentage is determined by comparing the median rent to the median monthly income of 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 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 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 rent-to-income ratios were in the Jackson, MS area at 34.4% and the Gulfport, MS area at 32.2%.
During that period, Jackson, MS area had the highest median rent at $1.01K per month and highest median monthly income at $2.94K out of three Mississippi metro areas. Its 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 |
