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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Look, the gap is staggering: 81 points separate #1 Jacksonville (index 92) from #22 Miami (index 173) within Florida. That spread means your housing, groceries, and daily expenses can cost 47% more depending on which city you choose. Here are all 22 cities, ranked with 2026 data.
#1 Ranked: Jacksonville — cost index 92, rent $1,576/mo, income $66,981
81-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
Look, the gap is staggering: 81 points separate #1 Jacksonville (index 92) from #22 Miami (index 173) within Florida. That spread means your housing, groceries, and daily expenses can cost 47% more depending on which city you choose. Here are all 22 cities, ranked with 2026 data.
The 3.5× rule is a conservative benchmark: lenders often approve up to 4-5× income, but 3.5× keeps monthly payments safely under 28% of gross income at typical rates. On $60K, that means targeting homes under $210,000. Jacksonville offers a median home at $282,367 — a 4.7× ratio with room to spare.
Why Jacksonville ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 92 on the cost index, residents save roughly 19% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,576/month while the median household pulls in $66,981/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 92, though Healthcare (98) lags behind. Home prices average $282,367 — $185,003 below the national median.
If you only look at rent, it's perfect. Zoom out and it's complicated. In Jacksonville, the healthcare index sits at 98 — not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing about.
81-point cost gap between #1 and #22. Jacksonville (index 92) and Miami (index 173) sit 81 points apart on the cost index — proof that Florida is far from monolithic in affordability.
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. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacksonville | 92 | $1,576 | Details |
| 2 | Cape Coral | 111 | $1,898 | Details |
| 3 | Palm Bay | 109 | $1,866 | Details |
| 4 | St Petersburg | 120 | $2,048 | Details |
| 5 | Port St Lucie | 137 | $2,350 | Details |
| 6 | Lakeland | 98 | $1,678 | Details |
| 7 | Tallahassee | 87 | $1,484 | Details |
| 8 | Tampa | 115 | $1,968 | Details |
| 9 | Clearwater | 111 | $1,904 | Details |
| 10 | Orlando | 108 | $1,857 | Details |
| 11 | Pompano Beach | 134 | $2,302 | Details |
| 12 | Coral Springs | 138 | $2,373 | Details |
| 13 | West Palm Beach | 132 | $2,256 | Details |
| 14 | Davie | 136 | $2,330 | Details |
| 15 | Pembroke Pines | 151 | $2,582 | Details |
| 16 | Miramar | 150 | $2,565 | Details |
| 17 | Fort Lauderdale | 159 | $2,718 | Details |
| 18 | Gainesville | 94 | $1,604 | Details |
| 19 | Hollywood | 131 | $2,237 | Details |
| 20 | Miami Gardens | 161 | $2,756 | Details |
| 21 | Hialeah | 142 | $2,437 | Details |
| 22 | Miami | 173 | $2,964 | Details |
Jacksonville (index 92) and Miami (index 173) sit 81 points apart on the cost index — proof that Florida is far from monolithic in affordability.
#1-ranked Jacksonville has a cost index 22 points lower than the top-5 average of 114. That's not a marginal lead — it's a category of its own.
Rent ranges from $1,576/mo in Jacksonville to $2,964/mo in Miami — a monthly difference of $1,388, or $16,656 per year.
985,843 residents · Florida
Why Jacksonville ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 92 on the cost index, residents save roughly 19% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,576/month while the median household pulls in $66,981/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 92, though Healthcare (98) lags behind. Home prices average $282,367 — $185,003 below the national median.
224,455 residents · Florida
Dive into Cape Coral's numbers: cost index 111 (0 points above national average), rent $1,898/month, income $76,062, and a home price of $335,921. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Healthcare is the cheapest category at 102, while Housing runs 111. With 224,455 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
135,566 residents · Florida
What does daily life actually cost in Palm Bay? Start with the 33% rent-to-income ratio — stretched, especially for single earners. On the category level, Healthcare (index 102) is where the real savings show up, while Housing (index 109) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $67,521 and homes at $299,958 round out a profile that ranks #3 for clear reasons.
263,553 residents · Florida
Dive into St Petersburg's numbers: cost index 120 (9 points above national average), rent $2,048/month, income $73,118, and a home price of $345,243. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Healthcare is the cheapest category at 104, while Housing runs 120. With 263,553 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
245,021 residents · Florida
A closer look at Port St Lucie: the cost index of 137 breaks down to a Healthcare index of 107 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 137 (weakest). Median rent is $2,350/month — 24% above the national median — while household income sits at $78,137, meaning locals spend about 36% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median.
We rank cities by their home-price-to-income ratio (median home price ÷ median household income). A lower ratio means homes are more attainable relative to local earnings. The standard benchmark is 3-5×; above 5× is considered stretched. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Jacksonville ranks #1 in Florida for this analysis with a cost index of 92 and median income of $66,981.
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.
Jacksonville (ranked #1) has a cost index of 92 and rent of $1,576/mo, while Miami (ranked #22) has a cost index of 173 and rent of $2,964/mo — a 81-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 Jacksonville is $1,576/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $319 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Jacksonville is $282,367, which is 4.2× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. 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.