Jacksonville cost of living
Prices in the Jacksonville, FL metro area run at 99.5 against a national average of 100, ranking it #95 of 387 metros. Rents there sit at 109.8.
What drives the number
Jacksonville sits at 99.5, which is as close to the national average as this series gets. It ranks #95 of 387 metro areas, in the middle by construction rather than by coincidence. Against Florida as a whole it is 3.9 points less expensive, which is the unusual direction, and it means the expensive part of the state is somewhere else.
Housing is doing nearly all of the work. Rents sit at 109.8 while goods sit at 96.2, a gap of 10.3 points between what it costs to live somewhere and what it costs to buy things. That pattern is the single most useful thing the parity series shows: the cost of a place is the cost of its housing.
The number is most useful in reverse: a job here can pay less in cash and still leave a household better off, by roughly 0.5 per cent before anything else is considered.
The vertical line is the national average of 100. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, SARPP, 2024.
What the biggest local jobs are really worth
The same pay buys different amounts in different places, so a salary quoted in Jacksonville is not comparable to one quoted elsewhere until it is divided by the local parity. These are the occupations that employ the most people here, with the quoted median alongside what that median is worth at national prices.
| Occupation | Employed | Median pay | Worth nationally | U.S. median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 22,560 | $27,730 | $27,869 | $30,480 |
| Retail Salespersons | 22,000 | $31,340 | $31,497 | $34,580 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 21,220 | $37,220 | $37,407 | $37,090 |
| Customer Service Representatives | 19,200 | $39,870 | $40,070 | $42,830 |
| Registered Nurses | 18,470 | $80,850 | $81,256 | $93,600 |
| General and Operations Managers | 17,480 | $97,360 | $97,849 | $102,950 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 16,300 | $37,870 | $38,060 | $38,940 |
| Cashiers | 15,670 | $28,980 | $29,126 | $31,190 |
Pay from the BLS metro survey, adjusted by dividing by the metro parity of 99.5.
Nearby metro areas
| Metro area | All items | Rents | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | 114.2 | 155.6 | #2 |
| Naples-Marco Island | 103.2 | 129.4 | #46 |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota | 102.4 | 128.0 | #54 |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers | 102.3 | 125.1 | #55 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford | 101.4 | 123.4 | #63 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 100.9 | 125.8 | #73 |
Jacksonville: common questions
Is Jacksonville expensive?
Prices are 0.5% below the national average, a parity of 99.5 where the country is 100. It ranks #95 of the 387 metro areas BEA measures. Against Florida as a whole it is 3.9 points less expensive.
What salary do you need in Jacksonville?
The median worker there earns $47,030, which buys what $47,266 buys nationally once local prices are taken into account. Comparing a salary offer between cities without this adjustment is comparing nothing useful.
Is housing the reason?
Usually. Rents here are at 109.8 against goods at 96.2. Goods barely vary between American cities because most are shipped and priced nationally; housing varies enormously, and it dominates any cost of living comparison.