Overall
- Jacksonville
- 99.5
Diff -14.7 RPP
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach vs Jacksonville
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Jacksonville is 12.9% less expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach.
12.9% less expensive
Jacksonville, FL is 12.9% less expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 99.5 vs 114.2). A $100,000 salary in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach buys about the same as $87,148 in Jacksonville; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 114.2 (Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach) vs 99.5 (Jacksonville)
- $100k in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach ≈ $87,148 purchasing power in Jacksonville
- Rents drives the gap (-45.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair FL:FL 114.2→99.5
TIER-GAP · SAME-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-SHIFT
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- SAME-STATE Same state · FL
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-SHIFT PP shift
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach would need to be in Jacksonville for the same purchasing power:
| In Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | In Jacksonville | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $43,574 | $-6,426 |
| $75,000 | $65,361 | $-9,639 |
| $100,000 | $87,148 | $-12,852 |
| $150,000 | $130,722 | $-19,278 |
$ in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach = in Jacksonville
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (114.2 → 99.5), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL and Jacksonville, FL sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 14.7 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach is above 100 while Jacksonville is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with Jacksonville 45.8 points lower than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach corresponds to $87,148 in Jacksonville.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Jacksonville
- 96.2
Diff -7.3 RPP
Services
- Jacksonville
- 87.5
Diff -9.7 RPP
Rents
- Jacksonville
- 109.8
Diff -45.8 RPP
| Category | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | Jacksonville | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 114.2 | 99.5 | -14.7 |
| Goods | 103.6 | 96.2 | -7.3 |
| Services | 97.2 | 87.5 | -9.7 |
| Rents | 155.6 | 109.8 | -45.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 114.2
Jacksonville 99.5
Goods
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 103.6
Jacksonville 96.2
Services
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 97.2
Jacksonville 87.5
Rents
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 155.6
Jacksonville 109.8
Vertical line = national average (100)
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach
114.2
Cost Index
Jacksonville
99.5
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Jacksonville more expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach?
Jacksonville is 12.9% less expensive than Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach. The overall cost index is 99.5 vs 114.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in Jacksonville equals $100K in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach?
A $100,000 salary in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach has the same purchasing power as $87,148 in Jacksonville. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach and Jacksonville?
Rents in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach are indexed at 155.6 while Jacksonville is at 109.8 (national average = 100). Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.