Jackson, MS
Mississippi's cheapest capital metro — and one of the tightest labor markets in the country. Jackson posts a **5.33% cap rate proxy** on a median home value of **$188,500**, with unemployment at just **2.8%**. Net migration is slightly negative at **−756 returns**, but permits are surging **+194% YoY**.
The numbers that matter most
What an investor checks first when sizing up a new metro — affordability ratio, rent vs income, cap rate proxy, and where the market is moving. Each metric shown vs. state and national medians for instant context.
moderate
Price to income
3.12×
The single most-cited 'is this market still cheap' check. Below 3× and you're in an affordability tailwind.
- vs Mississippi
- 3.12×=
- vs U.S.
- 3.43×-0.31
Benchmark
ACS median home value ÷ median HHI
moderate
Rent to income
25.6%
What share of a typical household's income goes to rent. Below 30% means tenants can absorb modest rent increases.
- vs Mississippi
- 22.3%
- vs U.S.
- 23.3%
Benchmark
(HUD FMR 2BR × 12) ÷ median HHI
deal-by-deal
Cap rate proxy
5.3%
Rough first-pass yield assuming a 35% expense ratio. Not an underwriting number — a 'is this even worth modeling' filter.
- vs Mississippi
- 4.6%+0.7
- vs U.S.
- 4.4%+1.0
Benchmark
(FMR 2BR × 12 × 0.65) ÷ ACS median home value
shrinking
Net migration
-0.13%
Forward-looking demand signal. Positive net migration drives rent growth and absorbs new supply.
- vs Mississippi
- -0.04%
- vs U.S.
- 0.04%
Benchmark
IRS net migration ÷ population
pipeline accelerating
Permit pipeline
2.27
permits per 1,000 residents
Forward-supply indicator. Above ~5 means the metro is building meaningfully relative to its size; below 2 means supply is tight.
- vs Mississippi
- 2.27=
- vs U.S.
- 3.49
Benchmark
Census BPS permits TTM ÷ population × 1,000
very tight labor market
Unemployment
2.8%
Tighter unemployment means higher wages, more rental demand, lower vacancy.
- vs Mississippi
- 2.8%=
- vs U.S.
- 3.9%-1.1
Benchmark
BLS LAUS, latest month
Section index — click any row to jump
What the data says about Jackson
Jackson is the cheapest state-capital metro in the Deep South — and one of the tightest labor markets in the country. The metro spans 7 counties and 591,397 residents, anchored by Mississippi state government, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and the Nissan Canton assembly plant. The FHFA Home Price Index compounded +37.3% over five years (FHFA) — moderate by national standards, but that's the price of entry: a median home value of $188,500 against median household income of $60,489 yields a price-to-income ratio of 3.12, right at the national median. The HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom is $1,288 (HUD FMR), and the cap rate proxy lands at 5.33% — comfortably above the national median of 4.35%. Unemployment is 2.8% (BLS LAUS), a full percentage point below the national 3.9%.
The construction story is a tale of three counties — and four rural appendages that barely register.
- Madison County leads with 503 building permits TTM (Census BPS), +15.4% YoY — the wealthiest county in the metro (MHI $78,794, MHV $286,300) and the suburban growth engine pushing northeast.
- Rankin County follows at 463 permits, surging +61.3% YoY — the affordable suburban belt east of Jackson proper, population 157K, median home value $223,400.
- Hinds County (the urban core, home to the city of Jackson) logged 296 permits, +60.0% YoY. The capital county has the metro's lowest median home value among the big three at $151,200 and the lowest household income at $49,966.
- The outer four — Simpson (46), Holmes (20), Yazoo (12), Copiah (3) — contribute 81 permits combined, just 6% of the metro total.
Net migration is −756 returns, −0.13% of the population per the IRS Statistics of Income — essentially flat. The top origin counties are all internal: Hinds (2,482), Rankin (1,412), Madison (1,282). This is reshuffling within the metro, not a population drain. The metro's geographic isolation — Memphis is 200+ miles north, the Gulf Coast metros are 150+ miles south — means there's no nearby competitor siphoning demand.
So what does an investor do with Jackson?
- If you're hunting cash flow, the 5.33% cap rate proxy is the headline. Pair it with a $188,500 median home value and 2.8% unemployment and you've got a tenant base that can pay rent. Focus on Hinds County for the cheapest entry and Rankin for the suburban upside.
- If you're playing appreciation, the +37.3% five-year HPI is steady but unspectacular. This is a 6.5% annualized compounder, not a momentum trade. The permit surge (+194% YoY metro-wide) will add supply, but it's concentrated in Madison and Rankin — Hinds County won't see supply pressure.
- If you already own here, the tight labor market is your moat. Government and healthcare jobs don't relocate. The Nissan plant keeps blue-collar demand stable. Rents are affordable relative to income (25.6% rent-to-income) which means tenants stay. Don't chase appreciation — let the cap rate do the work.
Where prices are and where they've been
FHFA House Price Index — repeat-sales index across the metro, sized against this metro's median household income and benchmarked against the Indiana metros average and U.S. metros average.
5-year price appreciation
+37.3%
FHFA HPI · Q1 2020 → Q4 2025
+2.7% YoY
$188,500 median home value
Jackson home prices climbed 37.3% over the last 5 years according to the FHFA repeat-sales index — a modest appreciation pace for a Midwest metro of this size. The 1-year change of 2.7% suggests steady appreciation continuing.
See the chart below for how the metro's appreciation curve stacks up against the Indiana metros average and the U.S. metros average. The gap between the metro and the national line is the "catch-up" or "lag" signal — and the slope tells you whether the gap is widening or closing.
How to read it
- 01Jackson (teal line) compounded **+37.3% over five years**, rising from an HPI of 179.6 in 2020-Q1 to 251.6 by 2025-Q4. Moderate but steady — the line never spiked or corrected the way Sun Belt metros did.
- 02The national metro aggregate (dashed rust line) ran harder — from 230.9 to 358.4 over the same window, a **+55.2% gain**. Jackson lagged the national pace by about 18 percentage points. This is a feature, not a bug: the gap is what keeps prices affordable.
- 03Mississippi state metros (navy line) tracked Jackson almost perfectly — Jackson IS the Mississippi housing market, ranking #1 by population among the state's 4 metros.
- 04Year-over-year growth is **+2.68%**, positive but decelerating. The curve flattened through 2023 (a brief dip to 223.6 in 2023-Q2) before resuming its climb. The dip was shallow — prices never gave back more than 2% before recovering.
- 05Investor read: this is a slow-compounder, not a momentum play. The 37.3% five-year gain translates to roughly 6.5% annualized — enough to build equity but not enough to flip. Underwrite for steady appreciation and let the cap rate proxy do the heavy lifting.
Where the value tier sits — top 5 counties by home value
| County | Median home value | Median HHI | Price-to-income | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison County | $286,300 | $78,794 | 3.63× | moderate |
| Rankin County | $223,400 | $77,454 | 2.88× | affordable |
| Hinds County | $151,200 | $49,966 | 3.03× | moderate |
| Yazoo County | $129,200 | $40,974 | 3.15× | moderate |
| Simpson County | $111,600 | $54,111 | 2.06× | affordable |
How to read the FHFA House Price Index
FHFA HPI is a repeat-sales index — it tracks the price change of the same properties over time, smoothing out new construction and luxury transactions. It's built from the mortgage data the GSEs (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac) already see, which makes it free of MLS survey error and immune to listing-feed gaps.
- 01Repeat-sales method. Tracks the same properties over time, so new construction and luxury transactions don't skew the trend.
- 02Federally sourced. Built from GSE mortgage data — no MLS survey error, no commercial license required to publish.
- 03Slope, not level. Watch the slope of the line, not the absolute index value — a steepening curve is a more reliable buy signal than the level.
The rent ladder
HUD Fair Market Rent by bedroom count, sized against this metro's median household income and benchmarked vs Indiana and the U.S.
Typical 2-bedroom rent
$1,288
/ month · HUD FMR FY 2026
25.6% of median HHI
A typical 2-bedroom in costs the median household 25.6% of their income — 2.3 points above the U.S. average (23.3%) 3.2 points above Mississippi (22.3%).
HUD calls anything above 30% "rent-burdened." This metro sits comfortably under that line, which means tenants can absorb modest rent increases — and landlords have headroom on rent hikes before pushing tenants out of the market.
Fair Market Rent — by bedroom count
| Bedroom | Monthly | Annual | % of median HHI | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 BR | $1,097 | $13.2K | 21.8% | comfortable |
| 2 BR | $1,288 | $15.5K | 25.6% | moderate |
| 3 BR | $1,544 | $18.5K | 30.6% | rent-burdened |
Why HUD Fair Market Rent matters
FMR is HUD's 40th-percentile rent estimate by bedroom count — refreshed every fiscal year, sourced from Census surveys (not commercial listing data), and used as the cap for Section 8 voucher payments. Three things investors should know:
- 01Defensible benchmark. Federal source, no commercial license required to publish or compare against.
- 02Section 8 ceiling. A property at or below FMR is voucher-eligible — government-paid rent at the FMR cap.
- 03Conservative estimate. 40th percentile means more than half of actual market rents in the metro come in higher.
Labor market direction
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — LAUS (unemployment) + CES (nonfarm employment), benchmarked against the U.S. average.
Unemployment rate
2.8%
BLS LAUS · latest month
Jackson's labor market is tight, with unemployment running at 2.8% — 1.1 points below the U.S. metros average (3.9%).
For an investor, tighter unemployment means higher wages, more rental demand, and lower vacancy. The trend chart below shows how the metro's unemployment has moved over the last 30 months.
Unemployment rate
2.8%
Nonfarm jobs
—
Median household income
$60,489
ACS 5-year
How to read the labor market
Two BLS series tell you almost everything you need about a metro's labor market: LAUS (unemployment, refreshed monthly) and CES (nonfarm payroll counts, refreshed monthly). LAUS is the tightness signal; CES is the size and direction signal.
- 01Unemployment is rental demand. Tighter labor markets mean higher wages and lower vacancy — landlords have pricing power when employers are competing for workers.
- 02YoY change is the trend signal. A negative pp YoY change means the labor market tightened over the last year — usually a leading indicator for rent growth.
- 03Nonfarm growth is supply absorption. Positive nonfarm payroll growth absorbs new housing supply and supports the rent + price trajectory together.
What's being built
U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey — trailing 12 months, broken out by structure type, with the YoY change as the directional signal.
Total permits TTM
1,343
Census BPS · trailing 12 months
+194.3% year-over-year
2.27 permits per 1,000 residents
Jackson pulled 1,343 building permits over the trailing 12 months, a meaningful jump 194.3% year-over-year. That works out to 2.27 permits per 1,000 residents, vs the U.S. metros average of 3.49.
Single-family vs multifamily mix matters: 5+ unit permits are lumpy (developers file for entire projects at once), while single-family permits are smoother and more reliable as a demand signal. The chart below breaks out the monthly mix.
Single family
1,253
trailing 12 months
2–4 unit
53
trailing 12 months
5+ unit
37
trailing 12 months
How to read the supply pipeline
Census BPS publishes building permit counts every month at the county level, by structure type. Single-family permits are the smooth signal — they reflect ongoing builder demand. 5+ unit permits are lumpy and project-level — one apartment approval can spike a month.
- 01Permits per 1,000 residents. The size-adjusted comparison number. Above ~5 means the metro is building meaningfully relative to its population; below 2 means supply is tight.
- 02YoY change is the direction. Year-over-year change in TTM permits tells you whether builders are leaning in or pulling back. Watch this number for trend reversals.
- 03Mix matters for cap rates. Heavy 5+ unit permitting tends to compress cap rates; single-family-dominated pipelines preserve them.
All 7 counties, ranked by population
Census Bureau (population, ACS demographics) + Census Building Permits Survey.
How to read it
- 01**Madison County leads at 503 permits TTM** — the wealthiest county in the metro (median HHI $78,794, MHV $286,300) is also the most active builder. This is the suburban growth engine: new subdivisions, higher price points, +15.4% YoY.
- 02**Rankin County follows at 463 permits, surging +61.3% YoY** — the largest percentage jump among the big three. Population 157K with median home value $223,400 — the affordable suburban belt east of Jackson proper.
- 03**Hinds County (the urban core) logged 296 permits, +60.0% YoY**. The capital city's county has the lowest median home value among the top three ($151,200) and the lowest household income ($49,966). Permits rising fast but from a lower base.
- 04The outer four counties — Simpson (46), Holmes (20), Yazoo (12), Copiah (3) — contribute just 81 permits combined, **6% of the metro total**. Nearly all new construction concentrates in the Madison–Rankin–Hinds triangle.
- 05Simpson County's +4,500% YoY is a base-rate artifact (1 permit last year, 46 this year). Don't read it as a signal — read the absolute number instead.
How to read the map
- 01The darkest shading concentrates on **Madison County (503) and Rankin County (463)** — the suburban ring north and east of Jackson proper. These two counties alone account for **72% of all metro permits**.
- 02**Hinds County** (the urban core, home to the city of Jackson) shows a medium fill at 296 permits. The capital county builds less than either suburban neighbor despite having the largest population (226K).
- 03The outer ring — **Copiah, Yazoo, Simpson, Holmes** — is pale to near-white. Combined they contribute 81 permits for a combined population of 98,414. Building activity is almost entirely absent outside the core triangle.
- 04Jackson's 7-county footprint stretches across central Mississippi but the economic mass is tightly clustered. The metro functions as a 3-county metro with 4 rural appendages.
- 05No neighboring metro competes for the suburban overflow — Jackson is geographically isolated. The nearest MSA of comparable size (Memphis) is 200+ miles north. Builders choose Madison or Rankin because there's nowhere else to go.
| # | County | Population | Median HHI | Home value | Permits TTM | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hinds County | 226,541 | $49,966 | $151,200 | 296 | +60.0% |
| 2 | Rankin County | 157,185 | $77,454 | $223,400 | 463 | +61.3% |
| 3 | Madison County | 109,257 | $78,794 | $286,300 | 503 | +15.4% |
| 4 | Copiah County | 28,210 | $47,994 | $105,600 | 3 | |
| 5 | Yazoo County | 27,467 | $40,974 | $129,200 | 12 | |
| 6 | Simpson County | 25,889 | $54,111 | $111,600 | 46 | +4500.0% |
| 7 | Holmes County | 16,848 | $29,434 | $76,500 | 20 | +17.6% |
Similar metros nationally
5 metros closest to Jackson by population and median household income — head-to-head on the metrics that matter for an investor.
Peer set
5
metros nearest by population + HHI
Best in 1 of 3 comparable metrics
Jackson is closest in size to Scranton, Toledo, Augusta, Youngstown. best in class on Unemployment, and behind on Net migration.
The table below ranks every metric — green cells mark the best value in the column, rust cells mark the worst. Jackson is highlighted as the focal row.
| Metro | Pop | Med HHI | Home value | P/I | Cap proxy | HPI 5y | Permits/1k | Migration | Unemp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
★Jackson | 0.59M | $60K | $189K | 3.12× | 5.3% | +37.3% | 2.27 | -0.13% | 2.8% |
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA | 0.57M | $64K | $177K | 2.77× | 5.5% | +59.8% | 1.08 | +0.19% | 4.3% |
Toledo, OH | 0.64M | $64K | $169K | 2.64× | 5.0% | +50.3% | 1.08 | -0.11% | 4.6% |
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 0.61M | $67K | $207K | 3.11× | 4.7% | +59.6% | 6.23 | +0.11% | 4.3% |
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA | 0.54M | $55K | $135K | 2.43× | 5.6% | +63.2% | 0.67 | -0.02% | 4.9% |
Fayetteville, NC | 0.52M | $59K | $186K | 3.16× | 5.2% | +62.6% | 6.98 | +0.11% | 4.3% |
How to read this comparison
Peer metros are picked by population + median household income — the closest five matches nationally — so the comparison is apples-to-apples on size and economic class. Sun Belt entrants like Las Vegas and Nashville are included when they fall in range, which is why this peer set spans both the Midwest and the Sun Belt.
- 01Green = best in column. The cell with the most-favorable value for that metric, accounting for whether higher or lower is better.
- 02Rust = worst in column. The cell with the least-favorable value. Combined with the green markers, this is your at-a-glance "where does my metro win and where does it lose."
- 03Cap proxy is the yield lens. Cap rate proxy = (FMR 2BR × 12 × 0.65) ÷ median home value. A first-pass yield filter, not an underwriting number — but it puts the peer set on a single comparable scale.
Where people are moving in from
IRS Statistics of Income — Tax Year 2022. Excludes intra-metro suburban churn.
Net migration
-756
tax returns · IRS SOI · TY 2022
-0.13% of metro population
2,482 from top origin
Jackson lost 756 returns on net (−0.13% of population) — a slight bleed, not an exodus. The top origin counties are all internal reshuffling: Hinds, Rankin, and Madison trading residents within the metro. The capital-city anchor holds.
The IRS data lags by ~2 years (households file taxes the year after they move), but it's the only nationwide county-to-county migration data sourced from administrative records, not survey estimates. The table below shows the top origin counties — the gravitational sources of new residents.
Top origin counties — where new residents are coming from
| Origin county | Tax returns |
|---|---|
| Hinds County, MS | 2,482 |
| Rankin County, MS | 1,412 |
| Madison County, MS | 1,282 |
| Warren County, MS | 204 |
| Copiah County, MS | 199 |
| Simpson County, MS | 185 |
Who lives in Jackson
U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates · 2019–2023 vintage.
Who lives here
- Median age
- 38.1
- Owner-occupancy
- 67.5%
- Bachelor's+
- 31.6%
Jackson relatively young Midwest metro: Median age 38.1, 67.5% owner-occupancy 31.6% holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Stable, educated, and mostly homeowner-driven.
The catch: 47.8% of renter households are rent-burdened (paying 30%+ of income on rent) — high enough to flag as a constraint on rent growth even though the headline rent-to-income ratio looks comfortable.
- Median household income
- $60,489
- Median age
- 38.1
- Bachelor's+ degree
- 31.6%
- Owner-occupancy rate
- 67.5%
- Vacancy rate
- 12.6%
- Rent burdened (30%+)
- 47.8%
Data sources
| Metric | Source | Type | Vintage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home prices | FHFA — House Price Index | Index | Q4 2025 |
| Fair market rents | HUD — Fair Market Rents | Administrative | FY 2026 |
| Unemployment rate | BLS — Local Area Unemployment Statistics | Survey | Jan 2026 |
| Nonfarm employment | BLS — Current Employment Statistics | Survey | Jan 2026 |
| Building permits | Census — Building Permits Survey | Survey | Mar 2026 TTM |
| Migration flows | IRS — Statistics of Income, Migration Data | Administrative | Tax Year 2022 |
| Demographics | Census — American Community Survey 5-Year | Survey | 2019–2023 |
| Household income | Census — American Community Survey 5-Year | Survey | 2019–2023 |
Page last refreshed: April 10, 2026