State comparison
Alabama vs Mississippi: which state is better to live in?
Mississippi costs a median household about $1,300 a year less in state and local taxes than Alabama, mostly because its income tax takes 3.5% of a median income against 4.9% in Alabama.
Alabama
Moderate tax burden · COL index 87
Wins 6 categories
Mississippi
Moderate tax burden · COL index 82
Wins 8 categories
Taxes: Alabama vs Mississippi
Alabama has a graduated income tax topping out at 5%, which works out to 4.9% on a median income of $74,580, or $3,689 a year. Mississippi has a flat 4.7% income tax, which works out to 3.5% on a median income of $74,580, or $2,583 a year. Mississippi wins on income tax at 2026 rates.
Property tax is 0.39% of home value a year in Alabama and 0.64% in Mississippi (Tax Foundation, 2023); on each state's median home that is $850 against $1,152, so Alabama has the lower rate.
Combined state and local sales tax averages 9.22% in Alabama and 7.07% in Mississippi; Mississippi is lower.
Add it up for a household earning $74,580 (the 2022 national median) and owning the median home: $6,602 a year in Alabama, $5,317 in Mississippi. Mississippi is cheaper on total state and local tax.
Housing and cost of living
Alabama's cost of living index is 87 and Mississippi's is 82, where 100 is the national average; Mississippi is about 6% cheaper day to day.
The median home costs $218K in Alabama and $180K in Mississippi (Zillow, 2024), a $38K gap in Mississippi's favor. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,050 a month in Alabama and $950 in Mississippi.
Home insurance averages $2,400 a year in Alabama and $2,500 in Mississippi, so Alabama is cheaper to insure.
Safety
Violent crime runs 547 incidents per 100,000 residents in Alabama and 283 in Mississippi (FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2023); Mississippi is the safer state by that measure, with a rate 93% lower. Property crime is 2,247 per 100,000 in Alabama against 2,080 in Mississippi, again favoring Mississippi.
Health
Life expectancy is 73.2 years in Alabama and 71.9 in Mississippi (County Health Rankings, 2024), a 1.3-year edge for Alabama. The Commonwealth Fund's 2023 scorecard ranks Alabama's health system 41st of 50 and Mississippi's 47th, so Alabama scores better on care.
11.2% of Alabama residents have no health insurance against 16.8% in Mississippi, which favors Alabama. Neither state has expanded Medicaid.
Schools
Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Alabama's K-12 schools 44th in the country and Mississippi's 50th, 6 places apart in Alabama's favor. Both states run school-choice voucher programs.
Laws and politics
In the 2024 presidential election Alabama went to Trump by 28 points and Mississippi went to Trump by 17 points.
Alabama has permitless carry and a Giffords gun-law grade of F; Mississippi has permitless carry and a grade of F.
Abortion is banned with narrow exceptions in both states, and marijuana is medical only in both as of 2026. The minimum wage is $7.25 an hour in Alabama and $7.25 in Mississippi.
Climate and risk
Natural disaster risk is moderate in Alabama (tornado, flood) and very high in Mississippi (hurricane, tornado, flood), so Alabama is the lower-risk state. Annual average air quality index is 38 in Alabama and 32 in Mississippi (under 50 is good), favoring Mississippi.
Tax figures use a household earning the national median income and owning each state's median home, at tax year 2026 rates, last checked against state sources on 2026-09-14. The table below has every number.
Taxes
Housing & Cost of Living
Crime & Safety
Healthcare
Education
Childcare
Utilities & Daily Costs
Social Policy
Category wins
6
Alabama
8
Mississippi
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Score For My Profile →Questions people ask
Is Alabama or Mississippi better to live in?
Mississippi wins more of the measures that decide a move. Mississippi on taxes ($5,317 a year for a median household against $6,602); Mississippi on everyday costs (index 82 against 87); Mississippi on safety (283 violent crimes per 100,000 against 547); Alabama on schools (ranked 44th against 50th).
Which is cheaper, Alabama or Mississippi?
Mississippi is cheaper day to day: cost of living index 82 against 87. The median home is $218K in Alabama and $180K in Mississippi (2024). On state and local taxes Mississippi saves a median household about $1,300 a year.
Does Alabama or Mississippi have lower taxes?
Mississippi. A household earning $74,580 pays about $6,602 a year in Alabama ($3,689 income tax, $850 property tax on the median home and $2,063 in sales tax) and $5,317 in Mississippi ($2,583 income tax, $1,152 property tax on the median home and $1,582 in sales tax), at 2026 rates.
Which is safer, Alabama or Mississippi?
Mississippi, on the FBI's 2023 figures. Violent crime is 547 per 100,000 residents in Alabama and 283 in Mississippi; property crime is 2,247 against 2,080.
Which has better schools, Alabama or Mississippi?
Alabama. Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Alabama 44th of 50 for K-12 and Mississippi 50th.
Is Alabama or Mississippi better for retirees?
Both treat retirement income about the same. Alabama does not tax Social Security, exempts pensions and has no estate or inheritance tax; Mississippi does not tax Social Security, exempts pensions and has no estate or inheritance tax. Property tax on a median home is $850 a year in Alabama and $1,152 in Mississippi.