Jacksonville, St Augustine and Duval County Cost of Living
The cost of living index is based on the composite price of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, health care, clothing and entertainment.
Cost of living indexes will generally be higher in areas that offer access to beaches, culture, arts and recreation. In addition areas, that offer a wider variety of services such as health and education will run higher due to higher wages, and increased quality of living.
Cost of living indexing explanation
A figure of 100 points is used as an average both for the USA and Florida. For example:
Boise Idaho is ranked at a 99
Boston Mass is rated at 240
San Francisco at 217
Statewide, Florida cities come in from a low of 90 and up.
One way to compare Florida areas to salary requirements
For example-If you were relocating from Portland Oregon (whose rate 1s 94.0) to Orlando, and you currently make $50,000 per year, the formula is as follows
Take the destination index, in this case Orlando-94.0 and divide by Portland’s index-120, then multiply by a salary of $50,000. This will give you a figure of $39,166 which would be required to make in Orlando to have the same quality of life.
See comparable Florida statewide
* Re cost of living–in some areas Real Estate has went up dramatically however costs that factor in such as food, transportation, rents etc have not increased at the same rate-so in some areas, even though housing is expensive, the overall rating may still be low
2007 stats per Sperlings best Places http://www.bestplaces.net/
Boca Raton-154.74
Bradenton-114
Cape Coral-Ft Myers-108.0
Ft Lauderdale-132.0
Fort Walton-Destin-120
Jacksonville metro-94.0
Big Pine Key fl-132.46
Key Largo-146.0
Key West-168.0
Marathon fl-162.06
Miami metro-138.0
Melbourne-92.72
Naples Fl-250.59
Orlando metro-94.0
Palm Bay-84.56
Palm Coast-Flagler-125.01
Panama City-86.35
Pensacola metro-82.0
Sarasota-108.75
Tampa 94.60
St Pete-Clearwater-91.58
Vero-Beach Indian River-122.87
West Palm Beach metro-112.05
(Population Weighted-State Average=100
See national comparisons
Cost of living (100 = nationwide average)
* New York, NY -164.50
* Long Beach, CA -135.71
* Palo Alto, CA -234.42
* Boston, MA -127.60
* Malibu, CA -492.80
* San Francisco, -187.23
* Greenwich, CT 215
* Chicago, IL -126.45
* Dallas Tx -92,94
* Atlanta Ga -112.21
For more information about cost of living go to either
Sperlings best Places http://www.bestplaces.net/
or Accra’s site at http://www.coli.org
Jacksonville has one of the lowest tax loads in the country. According to a national survey conducted by the District of Columbia’s Department of Finance and Revenue, the estimated state and local taxes paid by a family of four is 5%, the fourth lowest tax load of all the cities surveyed.
The cost of living index places Jacksonville at 94.0.as of the 4th quarter 2006
Consider that it is a major metropolitan area with all the needed services. In that context it comes in extremely favorably, in fact Jacksonville is the most affordable major city in Florida, according to a report released by the American Chambers of Commerce Research Association
- For more information about cost of living stats go to http://www.coli.org
- Housing. Minimum two bedroom single family homes in Duval County.
- From June 2004 through June 2005, the median sold price is $211,000.
- The median price for properties sold from June 1/2005 through July 26/2005 is $237,000.
Utilities. For Utility charges water and sewer go to http://www.jacksonvilleil.com/utilities.htm
For electric and gas go to http://jacksonville.citysearch.com/yellowpages/directory/Jacksonville_FL/160/540/page1.html
In conclusion, Although Jacksonville is the 16th largest metropolitan area in the US, the cost of living rates are really good in comparison to other same size areas.
