Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Jacksonville's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Jacksonville?
Your $100,000 in Jacksonville has the same purchasing power as $98,251 in the average US city. You'd need $1,749 more here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Jacksonville's cost index of 102, sorted by closest match.
If you're weighing a move to Jacksonville, the short answer is that the city has a few genuine arguments going for it — most obviously no state income tax and you don't actually need a car, plus 2 more things worth knowing. Here's the longer version.
Florida is one of the handful of US states with no state income tax on wages, so the only income-tax bite on a paycheck in Jacksonville is federal. For a household earning $100k, that's a tangible four-figure difference every year compared to a comparable salary in California or New York.
Jacksonville's Walk Score is 89/100 — top-tier walkability by US standards. Groceries, coffee, work, social life: most of it lands within reasonable foot range of wherever you live. A lot of residents skip car ownership entirely, which is its own form of savings on top of the lifestyle change. Transit Score comes in at 61/100 too, so even the trips that are too far to walk are usually doable on a bus or train.
Jacksonville's air quality index averages about 43 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Jacksonville is about 24 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Jacksonville's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Now and then. Jacksonville's winters are cool rather than truly cold — about 45°F on average — so most of the precipitation falls as rain. A snowy morning happens a few times a season; sustained accumulation is rare.
Mild on the cold side. Jacksonville's winter average of about 45°F is the kind of weather where you want a jacket but the heating bill is manageable. Snow is rare, frost is occasional, and the lawn never really browns out.
Genuinely hot. Summer in Jacksonville averages about 91°F, and peak afternoons run well over a hundred. Outdoor plans move to mornings and evenings; AC is the most-used appliance in the house.
Approximately USDA Hardiness Zone 9. That's the band gardeners use to pick plants — anything rated for Zone 9 or colder should survive a typical winter in Jacksonville. (The estimate is derived from our winter-temperature data; the official USDA map uses station-level annual minimums and may differ by half a zone.)
Jacksonville sits roughly 20 feet (6 m) above sea level — basically at the waterline. Storm surge, king tides, and long-term sea-level rise are real considerations for any coastal property here.
Officially, Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, but most of the action lands between mid-August and mid-October. For Jacksonville, that's when to keep half an eye on the National Hurricane Center forecast cone — and when an actual evacuation plan is worth having in the drawer if you're in a low-lying or coastal neighborhood.
Average for an American city. Jacksonville's reported crime rate of about 3,139 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
Roughly average. Jacksonville's cost-of-living index is 102, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Yes — Jacksonville is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 89/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Transit Score is 61 out of 100. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $71,246 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Jacksonville runs about $1,281/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.