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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
This is one of the closest races in our database: the top 5 cities are separated by just 7 points on the cost index. Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Lakeland, Palm Bay are all within striking distance. At this margin, secondary factors — taxes, rent trends, category-specific costs — become t…
#1 Ranked: Tallahassee — cost index 97, rent $1,484/mo, income $55,931
$1,480/mo rent gap across the ranking
10 of 22 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 112
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
This is one of the closest races in our database: the top 5 cities are separated by just 7 points on the cost index. Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Lakeland, Palm Bay are all within striking distance. At this margin, secondary factors — taxes, rent trends, category-specific costs — become the tiebreakers. Here's the full breakdown (that's pre-tax, of course).
At $1,484/month — we had to double-check this one — for rent and a cost index of 97, Tallahassee is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. Income is $55,931. That alone makes it worth considering (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
Bottom line: Tallahassee leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. Fairly typical for a city this size. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
| Rank | City | Transportation Index | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tallahassee | 92 | 97 | $1,484 | Details |
| 2 | Jacksonville | 93 | 98 | $1,576 | Details |
| 3 | Gainesville | 94 | 99 | $1,604 | Details |
| 4 | Lakeland | 96 | 101 | $1,678 | Details |
| 5 | Palm Bay | 98 | 104 | $1,866 | Details |
| 6 | Cape Coral | 100 | 106 | $1,898 | Details |
| 7 | Orlando | 101 | 107 | $1,857 | Details |
| 8 | Clearwater | 101 | 106 | $1,904 | Details |
| 9 | Tampa | 103 | 108 | $1,968 | Details |
| 10 | St Petersburg | 103 | 109 | $2,048 | Details |
| 11 | Pompano Beach | 107 | 113 | $2,302 | Details |
| 12 | West Palm Beach | 108 | 114 | $2,256 | Details |
| 13 | Port St Lucie | 109 | 115 | $2,350 | Details |
| 14 | Hollywood | 110 | 116 | $2,237 | Details |
| 15 | Hialeah | 113 | 119 | $2,437 | Details |
| 16 | Davie | 115 | 121 | $2,330 | Details |
| 17 | Coral Springs | 116 | 122 | $2,373 | Details |
| 18 | Pembroke Pines | 117 | 124 | $2,582 | Details |
| 19 | Miramar | 118 | 125 | $2,565 | Details |
| 20 | Miami Gardens | 119 | 125 | $2,756 | Details |
| 21 | Fort Lauderdale | 120 | 126 | $2,718 | Details |
| 22 | Miami | 127 | 134 | $2,964 | Details |
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.
The race is tight: Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Lakeland, Palm Bay are all within 7 points of each other. At this level, differences in rent, taxes, or a single category can sway the decision.
202,221 residents · Florida
Dive into Tallahassee's numbers: cost index 97 — not a number you see very often, by the way — (15 points below national average), rent $1,484/month, income $55,931, and a home price of $286,955. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 89, while Healthcare runs 100. With 202,221 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
985,843 residents · Florida
Why Jacksonville ranks #2: the numbers tell a clear story. At 98 on the cost index, residents save roughly 14% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,576/month — this is the part where it gets real — while the median household pulls in $66,981/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 90, though Healthcare (101) lags behind. Home prices average $282,367 — $185,003 below the national median (a figure that keeps climbing, by the way). An outlier in the best sense.
145,812 residents · Florida
A closer look at Gainesville: the cost index of 99 breaks down to a Utilities index of 91 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 102 (weakest). Median rent is $1,604/month — 15% below the national median — while household income sits at $45,611, meaning locals spend about 42% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median.
122,264 residents · Florida
The #4 spot goes to Lakeland, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,678/month — we had to double-check this one — — saving renters $2,604 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 93, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Healthcare at 104. The 33% rent-to-income ratio is a pressure point — for median earners, housing takes more than recommended.
135,566 residents · Florida
The numbers for Palm Bay are straightforward: 104 on the cost index, $1,866/month rent, $67,521 income. And for many people, not the most exciting entry in the list, but solid. Nothing too surprising there.
Cities are ranked by their transportation cost sub-index within Florida. Each sub-index is derived from the overall cost of living with regional adjustment factors. 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.
Tallahassee ranks #1 in Florida for this analysis with a cost index of 97 and median income of $55,931.
Tallahassee, FL has the lowest transportation index at 92, compared to the national average of 100.
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 97 and rent of $1,484/mo, while Miami (ranked #22) has a cost index of 134 and rent of $2,964/mo — a 37-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.