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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
A 86-point spread tells the whole story in Florida: Tallahassee at index 87 vs. Miami at 173. Nothing too surprising there. The difference translates to roughly $1,480/month in rent alone ($1,484 vs. $2,964). Which side of that divide you land on shapes your entire budget. Full 22-city ranking below…
#1 Ranked: Tallahassee — cost index 87, rent $1,484/mo, income $55,931
86-point cost gap between #1 and #22
6 of 22 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
A 86-point spread tells the whole story in Florida: Tallahassee at index 87 vs. Miami at 173. Nothing too surprising there. The difference translates to roughly $1,480/month in rent alone ($1,484 vs. $2,964). Which side of that divide you land on shapes your entire budget. Full 22-city ranking below.
Here's the thing: So, Tallahassee. Cost index of 87, rent at $1,484/month. It's lower than the national average. Median income is $55,931, which is below the national median. That alone makes it worth considering.
Rent data is sourced from Zillow's Observed Rent Index (ZORI), which tracks the median rent across all active listings — not just new leases. This gives a more representative and stable signal than asking prices alone. Tallahassee: $1,484/mo, Jacksonville: $1,576/mo, Gainesville: $1,604/mo. That alone makes it worth considering. The cheapest city here is $411 under the national median — that's $4,932/year in savings on rent alone.
An outlier in the best sense.
Look, If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. And depending on your situation, 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. It lines up with what you'd expect. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tallahassee | 87 | $1,484 | Details |
| 2 | Jacksonville | 92 | $1,576 | Details |
| 3 | Gainesville | 94 | $1,604 | Details |
| 4 | Lakeland | 98 | $1,678 | Details |
| 5 | Orlando | 108 | $1,857 | Details |
| 6 | Palm Bay | 109 | $1,866 | Details |
| 7 | Cape Coral | 111 | $1,898 | Details |
| 8 | Clearwater | 111 | $1,904 | Details |
| 9 | Tampa | 115 | $1,968 | Details |
| 10 | St Petersburg | 120 | $2,048 | Details |
| 11 | Hollywood | 131 | $2,237 | Details |
| 12 | West Palm Beach | 132 | $2,256 | Details |
| 13 | Pompano Beach | 134 | $2,302 | Details |
| 14 | Davie | 136 | $2,330 | Details |
| 15 | Port St Lucie | 137 | $2,350 | Details |
| 16 | Coral Springs | 138 | $2,373 | Details |
| 17 | Hialeah | 142 | $2,437 | Details |
| 18 | Miramar | 150 | $2,565 | Details |
| 19 | Pembroke Pines | 151 | $2,582 | Details |
| 20 | Fort Lauderdale | 159 | $2,718 | Details |
| 21 | Miami Gardens | 161 | $2,756 | Details |
| 22 | Miami | 173 | $2,964 | Details |
Tallahassee (index 87) and Miami (index 173) sit 86 points apart on the cost index — proof that Florida is far from monolithic in affordability.
Rent ranges from $1,484/mo in Tallahassee to $2,964/mo in Miami — a monthly difference of $1,480, or $17,760 per year.
202,221 residents · Florida
In plain English: Dive into Tallahassee's numbers: cost index 87 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — (24 points below national average), rent $1,484/month, income $55,931, and a home price of $286,955. That tracks. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 87, while Healthcare runs 97. With 202,221 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
985,843 residents · Florida
Here's Jacksonville by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 92. Rent: $1,576/month. Income: $66,981/year. Home price: $282,367. Population: 985,843. The strongest category is Housing at 92; the most expensive is Healthcare at 98. That tracks. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $3,828 per year vs. the national median. On a teacher's salary, this difference is the line between paycheck-to-paycheck and comfortable.
145,812 residents · Florida
At $1,604/month for rent and a cost index of 94, Gainesville is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. That tracks. Income is $45,611. Nothing too surprising there.
122,264 residents · Florida
Look, Lakeland comes in at #4. That tracks. Rent is $1,678 a month. Household income is $60,947. The cost of living index is 98. That's about what we'd expect given the state context.
320,742 residents · Florida
Straight up: a closer look at Orlando: the cost index of 108 breaks down to a Healthcare index of 102 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 108 (weakest). Median rent is $1,857/month — 2% below the national median — while household income sits at $69,268, meaning locals spend about 32% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median. Not even close to the national average.
Tallahassee ranks #1 in Florida for this analysis with a cost index of 87 and median income of $55,931.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Tallahassee (ranked #1) has a cost index of 87 and rent of $1,484/mo, while Miami (ranked #22) has a cost index of 173 and rent of $2,964/mo — a 86-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Tallahassee is $1,484/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $411 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Tallahassee is $286,955, which is 5.1× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
Florida has a 0% state income tax rate — one of the states with no income tax. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.05%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.8%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.