Louisiana and Mississippi at a glance
Louisiana and Mississippi share a border, but a paycheck does not travel across it unchanged. A $60,000 salary leaves $30,558 a year after taxes and the four basics in Louisiana and $30,557 in Mississippi.
Louisiana comes out ahead by $1 a year ($0 a month). The calculation starts from the same gross pay in both states, subtracts federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, then each state's own income tax, and then the population-weighted cost of a one-bedroom rental, groceries, home energy and gasoline across 4,611,961 people in 64 counties in Louisiana and 2,946,779 people in 82 counties in Mississippi.
Taxes: what each paycheck loses
Federal income tax ($5,072) and FICA ($4,590) on $60,000 are the same on both sides of the border. State income tax takes $1,425 in Louisiana and $1,835 in Mississippi, which leaves take-home pay of $48,914 and $48,504.
At $100,000
At $100,000 take-home pay is $76,276 in Louisiana and $75,306 in Mississippi, a difference of $970. The gap widens with income because graduated state brackets take a growing share.
Living costs
One-bedroom rent averages $973 a month in Louisiana and $928 in Mississippi, so Mississippi is $45 a month cheaper for housing. Food costs $3,436 a year in both, because the USDA Thrifty Food Plan is a national figure; home energy $1,893 and $2,028, and gasoline $1,345 and $1,342. Together the basics cost $18,355 a year in Louisiana and $17,947 in Mississippi.
What the Census adds
Median household income is $60,756 in Louisiana and $56,447 in Mississippi. Homeowners pay a median of $1,180 a year in property tax in Louisiana and $1,215 in Mississippi. Commuters travel 25.7 minutes each way on average in Louisiana and 25.6 in Mississippi.
Method
Taxes use the 2025 rules for a single filer with wage income only and the standard deduction. Housing and living costs are county figures from HUD (one-bedroom Fair Market Rent), the USDA Thrifty Food Plan and state energy prices from the Energy Information Administration, averaged across each state's counties and weighted by population, so large counties count more. Local income taxes are not included. Counties differ widely inside every state, so use the county pages for a specific place.