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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 | 98 | $1,576 | Details |
| 2 | Tallahassee | 97 | $1,484 | Details |
| 3 | Gainesville | 99 | $1,604 | Details |
| 4 | Lakeland | 101 | $1,678 | Details |
| 5 | Miami | 134 | $2,964 | Details |
| 6 | Tampa | 108 | $1,968 | Details |
| 7 | Orlando | 107 | $1,857 | Details |
| 8 | St Petersburg | 109 | $2,048 | Details |
| 9 | Port St Lucie | 115 | $2,350 | Details |
| 10 | Cape Coral | 106 | $1,898 | Details |
| 11 | Hialeah | 119 | $2,437 | Details |
| 12 | Fort Lauderdale | 126 | $2,718 | Details |
| 13 | Pembroke Pines | 124 | $2,582 | Details |
| 14 | Hollywood | 116 | $2,237 | Details |
| 15 | Miramar | 125 | $2,565 | Details |
| 16 | Palm Bay | 104 | $1,866 | Details |
| 17 | Coral Springs | 122 | $2,373 | Details |
| 18 | West Palm Beach | 114 | $2,256 | Details |
| 19 | Clearwater | 106 | $1,904 | Details |
| 20 | Pompano Beach | 113 | $2,302 | Details |
| 21 | Miami Gardens | 125 | $2,756 | Details |
| 22 | Davie | 121 | $2,330 | Details |
#1 Ranked: Jacksonville — cost index 98, rent $1,576/mo, income $66,981
Veteran scoring: cost index 98, no state income tax, healthcare index 101 — 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 98 cost index and no state income tax.
Dive into Jacksonville's numbers: cost index 98 (14 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 — Utilities is the cheapest category at 90, while Healthcare runs 101. As a major city with 985,843 residents, amenities and job markets are robust.
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.
985,843 residents · Florida
Dive into Jacksonville's numbers: cost index 98 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — (14 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 — Utilities is the cheapest category at 90, while Healthcare runs 101. 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 97 breaks down to a Utilities index of 89 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 100 (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 99 on the cost index, residents save roughly 13% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,604/month while the median household pulls in $45,611/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 91, though Healthcare (102) lags behind. Home prices average $293,024 — $174,346 below the national median.
122,264 residents · Florida
The #4 spot goes to Lakeland, and the breakdown explains why. And with some exceptions, renters here pay $1,678/month — for better or worse — — 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.
455,924 residents · Florida
A closer look at Miami: the cost index of 134 breaks down to a Utilities index of 123 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 184 (weakest). Median rent is $2,964/month — 56% above the national median — while household income sits at $59,390, meaning locals spend about 60% 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 98 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 98 and rent of $1,576/mo, while Davie (ranked #22) has a cost index of 121 and rent of $2,330/mo — a 23-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.