Overall
- Jackson
- 85.5
Diff -0.4 RPP
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission vs Jackson
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Jackson is 0.4% less expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission.
0.4% less expensive
Jackson, TN is 0.4% less expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 85.5 vs 85.9). A $100,000 salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission buys about the same as $99,566 in Jackson; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 85.9 (McAllen-Edinburg-Mission) vs 85.5 (Jackson)
- $100k in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission ≈ $99,566 purchasing power in Jackson
- Services drives the gap (-8.6 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair TX:TN 85.9→85.5
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE TX × TN
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
85.9
Cost Index
Jackson
85.5
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX and Jackson, TN are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Jackson is 8.6 points lower. But goods and rents move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission to $99,566 in Jackson, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Jackson
- 96.2
Diff +2.5 RPP
Services
- Jackson
- 72.6
Diff -8.6 RPP
Rents
- Jackson
- 56.6
Diff +0.7 RPP
| Category | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | Jackson | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 85.9 | 85.5 | -0.4 |
| Goods | 93.8 | 96.2 | +2.5 |
| Services | 81.2 | 72.6 | -8.6 |
| Rents | 55.9 | 56.6 | +0.7 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 85.9
Jackson 85.5
Goods
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 93.8
Jackson 96.2
Services
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 81.2
Jackson 72.6
Rents
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 55.9
Jackson 56.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission would need to be in Jackson for the same purchasing power:
| In McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | In Jackson | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,783 | $-217 |
| $75,000 | $74,674 | $-326 |
| $100,000 | $99,566 | $-434 |
| $150,000 | $149,349 | $-651 |
$ in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission = in Jackson
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (85.9 → 85.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Jackson more expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission?
Jackson is 0.4% less expensive than McAllen-Edinburg-Mission. The overall cost index is 85.5 vs 85.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Jackson equals $100K in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission?
A $100,000 salary in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission has the same purchasing power as $99,566 in Jackson. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between McAllen-Edinburg-Mission and Jackson?
Rents in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission are indexed at 55.9 while Jackson is at 56.6 (national average = 100). Jackson has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.