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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
After service, the right city means keeping more of what you've earned. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is. We scored 22 cities across Florida for veterans: cost, taxes, and healthcare. Jacksonville takes #1 for 2026.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacksonville | 92 | $1,576 | Details |
| 2 | Tallahassee | 87 | $1,484 | Details |
| 3 | Gainesville | 94 | $1,604 | Details |
| 4 | Tampa | 115 | $1,968 | Details |
| 5 | Orlando | 108 | $1,857 | Details |
| 6 | St Petersburg | 120 | $2,048 | Details |
| 7 | Cape Coral | 111 | $1,898 | Details |
| 8 | Palm Bay | 109 | $1,866 | Details |
| 9 | Lakeland | 98 | $1,678 | Details |
| 10 | Clearwater | 111 | $1,904 | Details |
| 11 | Miami | 173 | $2,964 | Details |
| 12 | Port St Lucie | 137 | $2,350 | Details |
| 13 | Hialeah | 142 | $2,437 | Details |
| 14 | Fort Lauderdale | 159 | $2,718 | Details |
| 15 | Pembroke Pines | 151 | $2,582 | Details |
| 16 | Hollywood | 131 | $2,237 | Details |
| 17 | Miramar | 150 | $2,565 | Details |
| 18 | Coral Springs | 138 | $2,373 | Details |
| 19 | West Palm Beach | 132 | $2,256 | Details |
| 20 | Pompano Beach | 134 | $2,302 | Details |
| 21 | Miami Gardens | 161 | $2,756 | Details |
| 22 | Davie | 136 | $2,330 | Details |
#1 Ranked: Jacksonville — cost index 92, rent $1,576/mo, income $66,981
44-point cost gap between #1 and #22
Veteran scoring: cost index 92, no state income tax, healthcare index 98 — preserving earned benefits
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
After service, the right city means keeping more of what you've earned. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is. We scored 22 cities across Florida for veterans: cost, taxes, and healthcare. Jacksonville takes #1 for 2026.
Veterans have unique financial considerations: pension, VA disability, GI Bill benefits all interact with local costs and taxes. Our model weights cost of living (20pts), state tax burden (20pts), and healthcare costs (15pts) for supplemental care beyond VA. Jacksonville scores highest with a 92 cost index and no state income tax.
Dive into Jacksonville's numbers: cost index 92 (19 points below national average), rent $1,576/month, income $66,981, and a home price of $282,367. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 92, while Healthcare runs 98. As a major city with 985,843 residents, amenities and job markets are robust.
Read this before you sign a lease anywhere: 44-point cost gap between #1 and #22. Jacksonville (index 92) and Davie (index 136) sit 44 points apart on the cost index — proof that Florida is far from monolithic in affordability.
Bottom line: Jacksonville 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. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
985,843 residents · Florida
Dive into Jacksonville's numbers: cost index 92 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — (19 points below national average), rent $1,576/month, income $66,981, and a home price of $282,367. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 92, while Healthcare runs 98. As a major city with 985,843 residents, amenities and job markets are robust. Not even close to the national average.
202,221 residents · Florida
A closer look at Tallahassee: the cost index of 87 breaks down to a Housing index of 87 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 97 (weakest). And in practical terms, median rent is $1,484/month — 22% below the national median — while household income sits at $55,931, meaning locals spend about 32% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median.
145,812 residents · Florida
Why Gainesville ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. At 94 on the cost index, residents save roughly 17% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,604/month while the median household pulls in $45,611/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 94, though Healthcare (99) lags behind. Home prices average $293,024 — $174,346 below the national median.
403,364 residents · Florida
The #4 spot goes to Tampa, and the breakdown explains why. And with some exceptions, renters here pay $1,968/month — for better or worse — — costing renters $876 more per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Healthcare is the standout at index 103, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Housing at 115. The 33% rent-to-income ratio is a pressure point — for median earners, housing takes more than recommended.
320,742 residents · Florida
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 (though the trend is moving in the right direction).
Jacksonville ranks #1 in Florida for this analysis with a cost index of 92 and median income of $66,981.
Jacksonville scores highest for military veterans due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,576/mo, and competitive 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 Davie (ranked #22) has a cost index of 136 and rent of $2,330/mo — a 44-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.