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CityLedger

Baton Rouge vs Jackson

Metro-area medians — Baton Rouge, LA Metro Area vs Jackson, MS Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Jackson comes out ahead, winning 6 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.

Baton Rouge and Jackson cost about the same to live in, but Baton Rouge households earn about 7% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Baton Rouge.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Baton Rouge, LA
$59,439
take-home / yr · 21% to tax
$65,475
real value after local prices
Jackson, MS
$58,555
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$65,756
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Jackson leaves you about $281/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Baton Rouge
Jackson
Livability (CityLedger)
40/100
39/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
90.8
89.0
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$76,331
$72,809
Median household income
$69,293
$64,835
Median rent
$1,138/mo
$1,100/mo
Median home value
$252,000
$210,000
Unemployment
5%
4.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher
30.9%
32.5%
Average commute
27.3 min
24.9 min
Air quality (median AQI)
53
48
Avg temperature
69°F
66°F

Choose Baton Rouge for

  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median household income
Full Baton Rouge profile →

Choose Jackson for

  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Unemployment
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
  • + Average commute
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Jackson profile →

Baton Rouge vs Jackson — frequently asked

Is Baton Rouge cheaper than Jackson?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Baton Rouge and Jackson metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Baton Rouge or Jackson?
Baton Rouge has the higher median household income — $69,293 versus $64,835 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 7% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Baton Rouge or Jackson?
A paycheck stretches further in Baton Rouge. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $76,331 there versus $72,809 in Jackson.
Which has cheaper rent, Baton Rouge or Jackson?
Jackson has cheaper rent — a median of $1,100/mo versus $1,138/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).