Jackson is among the most challenging cities in the United States if you’re living with asthma and has some of the highest rates of asthma-related deaths, says a 2026 report from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
Among the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, Jackson ranks third in mortality rates linked to asthma. The common lung disease causes inflammation of the body’s airways, making it difficult to breathe.
Beyond counting the number of deaths, the nonprofit organization’s report looks at asthma prevalence and emergency department visits for asthma to rank the most challenging places in which to live with the chronic lung condition. Weighing these factors, researchers placed Jackson 36th on the list this year.
These trends have worsened over recent years. In 2023, Jackson was the 63rd most challenging place to live with asthma out of the same 100 cities. By 2025, Jackson had moved up to 47th place. Previously lower asthma rates have gone up to be “average” with those cities, while deaths from asthma have declined below average.
“Not a lot of people know that (asthma) is life-threatening,” said Hannah Jaffee, research director at the foundation. During a severe asthma attack, the body’s airways narrow and can prevent enough oxygen from entering the bloodstream.
The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 239 Mississippians died from asthma between 2020 and 2024. While asthma deaths are rare, that number is likely an undercount, said Calandra Davis, the American Lung Association’s director of advocacy in Mississippi. When adjusted for population, Black Mississippians experienced a death rate twice as high as their white counterparts. Nationally, Black Americans are three times as likely to die from asthma as white Americans, and the rate is highest for Black women.
“Structural and historical racism, at the systemic level, unfortunately has led to a lot of disparities that we see in terms of asthma prevalence, asthma-related emergency department visits and asthma related deaths,” said Jaffee.
While treatments for asthma have improved, racial and ethnic disparities have not, she said. She pointed to poverty from redlining, a practice where bankers denied investment in predominantly Black neighborhoods, and lack of health insurance as factors influencing the disparities.
Research shows that many asthma-related deaths, especially for children and young adults, are preventable with better care and awareness of warning signs. One of the strongest indicators of a severe attack is extreme shortness of breath that may include audible wheezing and inability to speak.
Dr. Joshua Phillips, an allergist at the Mississippi Asthma and Allergy Clinic in Jackson, said he considers almost all these deaths to be preventable.
“This is, in 2026, a treatable disease,” he said, before listing a dozen medication types. ”These drugs really lowered asthma mortality when they started coming out in the 1980s and 1990s.”
In addition to the daily and emergency rescue inhaler, he’s used injectable medicines, called biologics, that target specific antibodies to help manage severe cases of asthma.
Phillips treats patients from around the state, and he’s seen the Mississippi State Fair in early October as the beginning of peak asthma season. Several factors come into play — the change in weather, the start of fall viruses, ragweed pollen season and people congregating at outdoor events. Being part of the southern United States, Mississippi experiences longer-than-average pollen seasons for trees and grasses. That exposure can bring out asthma symptoms in people who elsewhere would have experienced nasal allergies, Phillips said.
“This is a multiple-issue crisis,” Davis said. When people lose access to healthcare, whether through not having health insurance or getting priced out of medications, she expects to see more asthma-related deaths.
Phillips noted that rural hospital closures have led some of his patients to drive into Jackson from the Delta, but lack of reliable transportation means they sometimes miss visits.
Meanwhile, air quality has gotten worse across Mississippi, which directly impacts people with lung conditions such as asthma.
In April, the American Lung Association issued a “State of the Air” report that shows a decrease in air quality in and around Jackson since the previous year. The surrounding metro area received a B grade for ozone pollution, also known as smog.
Other parts of Mississippi fared worse. One monitored area that includes DeSoto County received an F, while the Gulfport-Biloxi area was graded a C. Only 10 counties out of 82 in Mississippi have monitoring stations for air quality, limiting the geographic areas researchers are able to analyze.
Factory gases, smokestacks, diesel engines and power plants can all contribute to poor air quality, said Davis. These pollutants are especially dangerous for youth and older adults, and are linked to health concerns, including heart disease, lung cancer and asthma.
“We are putting our children, our elders, those who are pregnant at risk because there’s an unsafe level of air quality,” Davis said. “So whether that’s a B grade or F grade, there is a level of unsafe air.”
Given the increase in asthma prevalence, Phillips encouraged Mississippians to think of asthma as a long-term, chronic disease rather than something that affects them temporarily. The best way to manage asthma, he said, is to be proactive. This can look like seeing a specialist twice a year and having a plan for how to handle sudden asthma attacks.
“A lot of patients just feel that, ‘Well, I feel better. My asthma went away.’” Phillips said. “No, your asthma did not go away. It may have gone to sleep, but it’s still very much there.”
This story was produced with support from the Sarah Yelena Haselhorst Fund for Health Journalism.
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