Moving to Mississippi: City Guides, Checklist & Tips

Updated July 2026

Biloxi and Gulfport, Gulf Coast neighbors 14 miles apart, both carry a cost of living index of 82.6 — 17.4% below the national average — but the economies behind that affordability differ. Biloxi's is anchored by Keesler Air Force Base's 81st Training Wing, eight Gulf Coast casinos, and one of the country's busiest seafood ports, at a median home price of $226,754 and 2.8% unemployment. Gulfport runs on the Naval Construction Battalion Center, homeport to more than 4,500 Atlantic Fleet Seabees, and the Port of Gulfport, a deep-water cargo terminal worth an estimated $3.8 billion a year to the region, at a $214,000 median home price. This hub collects our city-by-city relocation guides for Mississippi, plus the practical steps to become a resident.

Mississippi City Guides

• Biloxi

  Gulf Coast affordability anchored by Keesler Air Force Base, eight casinos, and one of the busiest seafood ports on the Gulf.

  Read the Biloxi guide →

• Gulfport

  Mississippi's Navy Seabee homeport and a working deep-water port, 14 miles west of Biloxi at the same cost of living.

  Read the Gulfport guide →

Mississippi Living and Vacationing Quick Reference

How Mississippi Got Its Name

Mississippi takes its name from the river that forms its western border — a French rendering of Misi-ziibi, an Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) phrase commonly glossed "great river," carried south by French explorers and missionaries who adapted Indigenous river names as they mapped the interior. The Ojibwe homeland lay far upstream in the Great Lakes region, not the Gulf Coast — a reminder the name traveled the length of the river before it named the state at its mouth. That coast carries its own military throughline: Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi trains more than 28,000 airmen a year as the Air Force's electronics and technical training hub, while Gulfport's Naval Construction Battalion Center — where the first Seabees arrived in 1942 — is the home base of the Atlantic Fleet's Seabees, the Navy's combat construction battalions.

How to Become a Mississippi Resident

Establishing residency unlocks a Mississippi driver's license, vehicle registration, in-state tuition, and resident access to state parks and programs. You establish residency in Mississippi by doing any one of the following — you don't need all of them:

• Renting or buying a house or apartment in Mississippi
• Being employed within Mississippi
• Being registered to vote in Mississippi
• Having a business located in Mississippi
• Having children who attend a Mississippi primary or secondary school
• Spending more than 183 days (6 months) out of a 12-month period in Mississippi

Mississippi Moving Checklist

• Apply for a Mississippi driver's license — deadline in the quick reference above
• Register your vehicle — it runs on a shorter clock than the license — and get Mississippi car insurance
• Register to vote at your new address
• Update your health insurance and other policies, and find new providers
• Transfer medical, dental, and school records, and enroll children in your new district
• Take care of financial details — banks, loans, and investments
• License your pets and find a local veterinarian
• Set up utilities and file your change of address with USPS
• Review the tax picture: Mississippi has a progressive state income tax of 3% to 5% across 3 brackets

Comparing states? Browse moving guides for every state.