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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Let's be honest: these cities aren't cheap. But within that premium market, there are cities where your dollar stretches meaningfully further. Jacksonville proves it with a cost index of 92, and we've ranked all 2 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
Let's be honest: these cities aren't cheap. But within that premium market, there are cities where your dollar stretches meaningfully further. Jacksonville proves it with a cost index of 92, and we've ranked all 2 contenders to help you find the best deal in an expensive landscape.
At $1,576/month — for better or worse — for rent and a cost index of 92, Jacksonville is pretty much what you'd expect from a larger city in this part of the country. Income is $66,981. Fairly typical for a city this size.
The ranking uses a composite of 2026 data from Census Bureau population/income surveys, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary benchmarks, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Jacksonville (index 92, rent $1,576); San Francisco (index 224, rent $3,830). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons.
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.
#1 Ranked: Jacksonville, FL — cost index 92, rent $1,576/mo, income $66,981
1 of 2 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
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JacksonvilleFL | 92 | $1,576 | Details |
| 2 | San FranciscoCA | 224 | $3,830 | Details |
985,843 residents · Florida
Look, 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. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $3,828 per year vs. the national median. That kind of value just doesn't show up in expensive metros.
808,988 residents · California
Here's San Francisco by the numbers — and there's a lot to like. Cost index: 224. Rent: $3,830/month. Income: $141,446/year. Home price: $1,299,230. Population: 808,988. The strongest category is Healthcare at 125; the most expensive is Housing at 224. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are costing renters $23,220 more per year vs. the national median. If you plug these numbers into any cost calculator, they hold up.
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 San Francisco (ranked #2) has a cost index of 224 and rent of $3,830/mo — a 132-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.
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.