Which city in Florida leaves you best off?

Wildwood, at $88,824 of purchasing power on $100,000 with a $400,000 home — $22,551 a year more than Miami at the other end of the table. Because the income tax is identical everywhere in Florida, that ranking is made of two things only: the price level and property tax.

Which is the cheapest city in Florida?

Wildwood, at 85.424 on the Bureau of Economic Analysis price index where 100 is the US average, against 114.155 in Miami. Cheapest is not the same as best off, though: property tax is set separately and can move a household by $223 a year on the same house.

Does income tax differ between cities in Florida?

No. Florida sets one set of brackets for the whole state — in fact it does not tax wage income at all, and it does not let counties or cities levy their own income tax. On $100,000 the bill is federal $13,170, FICA $7,650 and state $0 in every one of these 22 areas. That is what makes comparing them clean.

How much does cost of living vary inside Florida?

From 85.424 to 114.155 on the price index — 28.7 points between Wildwood and Miami. In take-home terms that is $22,551 a year of purchasing power on the same salary.

How many Florida city comparisons are there?

231, one page each, every pair of the 22 metropolitan areas the Bureau of Economic Analysis prices in Florida. Each resolves the same way — income tax, property tax and price level — and each shows the break-even salary in both directions.

2026 · 22 metro areas · 231 comparisons

Florida cities compared

All 22 Florida metropolitan areas on the same $100,000 salary and the same $400,000 home. Wildwood leaves you $22,551 a year better off than Miami — and none of it is income tax, which is identical everywhere in the state.

Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz QuinteroSources checked September 1, 2026Price level from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis; property tax from US Census Bureau county data

Wildwood to Miami: $22,551 a year apart, same tax code

Florida has 22 metropolitan areas with a published price index, and on $100,000 with a $400,000 home they are not interchangeable: $88,824 of purchasing power in Wildwood against $66,273 in Miami — $22,551 a year, 22.6% of the salary, without leaving the state.

That gap is unusually easy to trust, because the income tax is identical in every row. Federal $13,170, FICA $7,650, Florida state income tax $0 — the state does not levy one, and no county or city in Florida levies its own. Two things move down this table and only two: what a house costs in property tax, and what everything costs at the till.

Every Florida metropolitan area, by what a $100,000 salary buys

Metropolitan area	Buys	Behind the best	Prices	Property tax
1Wildwood-The Villages	$88,824	best	85.424	0.83%
2Sebring	$82,479	−$6,345	92.47	0.73%
3Homosassa Springs	$82,183	−$6,640	93.467	0.59%
4Tallahassee	$81,007	−$7,816	93.919	0.77%
5Ocala	$79,987	−$8,837	95.234	0.75%
6Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin	$79,349	−$9,474	97.031	0.55%
7Panama City-Panama City Beach	$78,962	−$9,862	97.296	0.59%
8Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent	$78,575	−$10,249	97.717	0.60%
9Lakeland-Winter Haven	$78,475	−$10,349	97.141	0.74%
10Gainesville	$78,041	−$10,783	96.733	0.92%
11Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor	$77,585	−$11,239	98.308	0.73%
12Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach	$76,526	−$12,298	99.367	0.78%
13Jacksonville	$76,502	−$12,322	99.484	0.77%
14Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville	$76,365	−$12,458	100.005	0.70%
15Port St. Lucie	$75,417	−$13,407	100.228	0.90%
16Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater	$75,394	−$13,430	100.89	0.78%
17Punta Gorda	$75,237	−$13,586	100.525	0.89%
18Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford	$75,041	−$13,783	101.418	0.77%
19North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota	$74,291	−$14,533	102.417	0.77%
20Naples-Marco Island	$74,162	−$14,662	103.2	0.66%
21Cape Coral-Fort Myers	$74,130	−$14,694	102.349	0.83%
22Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach	$66,273	−$22,551	114.155	0.88%

Purchasing power on a $100,000 salary with a $400,000 home: take-home after federal, FICA, Florida income tax and property tax, divided by that area’s price level. The income tax is identical in every row — the whole of the spread is property tax and the price level. Price index 100 is the US average.

9 of the 22 price above the national average and 13 below it — inside one state, under one tax code. A single state-level cost of living number averages that away and tells you about none of them.

Property tax runs from 0.55% in Crestview to 0.92% in Gainesville — on a $400,000 home that is $2,186 against $3,688 a year, a difference of $1,502. Each rate is that area's counties averaged and weighted by how many homes are in each, because a house pays the tax and a rural county of a few thousand homes should not weigh the same as an urban one of several hundred thousand.

The 231 Florida comparisons, resolved

Every pair of Florida cities, each on its own page with the full working, the break-even salary and the property tax bill house by house. Ordered by the population that could plausibly be choosing between them:

Miami vs Tampa — Tampa by $9,121 a year. Price level 114.155 against 100.89; property tax 0.88% against 0.78%.

Miami vs Orlando — Orlando by $8,768 a year. Price level 114.155 against 101.418; property tax 0.88% against 0.77%.

Jacksonville vs Miami — Jacksonville by $10,229 a year. Price level 99.484 against 114.155; property tax 0.77% against 0.88%.

Miami vs North Port — North Port by $8,018 a year. Price level 114.155 against 102.417; property tax 0.88% against 0.77%.

Cape Coral vs Miami — Cape Coral by $7,857 a year. Price level 102.349 against 114.155; property tax 0.83% against 0.88%.

Lakeland vs Miami — Lakeland by $12,203 a year. Price level 97.141 against 114.155; property tax 0.74% against 0.88%.

Deltona vs Miami — Deltona by $10,253 a year. Price level 99.367 against 114.155; property tax 0.78% against 0.88%.

Miami vs Palm Bay — Palm Bay by $10,093 a year. Price level 114.155 against 100.005; property tax 0.88% against 0.70%.

Miami vs Pensacola — Pensacola by $12,302 a year. Price level 114.155 against 97.717; property tax 0.88% against 0.60%.

Miami vs Port St. Lucie — Port St. Lucie by $9,144 a year. Price level 114.155 against 100.228; property tax 0.88% against 0.90%.

Miami vs Tallahassee — Tallahassee by $14,735 a year. Price level 114.155 against 93.919; property tax 0.88% against 0.77%.

Miami vs Ocala — Ocala by $13,714 a year. Price level 114.155 against 95.234; property tax 0.88% against 0.75%.

Miami vs Naples — Naples by $7,889 a year. Price level 114.155 against 103.2; property tax 0.88% against 0.66%.

Gainesville vs Miami — Gainesville by $11,769 a year. Price level 96.733 against 114.155; property tax 0.92% against 0.88%.

Crestview vs Miami — Crestview by $13,077 a year. Price level 97.031 against 114.155; property tax 0.55% against 0.88%.

Miami vs Panama City — Panama City by $12,689 a year. Price level 114.155 against 97.296; property tax 0.88% against 0.59%.

Miami vs Punta Gorda — Punta Gorda by $8,965 a year. Price level 114.155 against 100.525; property tax 0.88% against 0.89%.

Miami vs Sebastian — Sebastian by $11,312 a year. Price level 114.155 against 98.308; property tax 0.88% against 0.73%.

Homosassa Springs vs Miami — Homosassa Springs by $15,911 a year. Price level 93.467 against 114.155; property tax 0.59% against 0.88%.

Miami vs Wildwood — Wildwood by $22,551 a year. Price level 114.155 against 85.424; property tax 0.88% against 0.83%.

Miami vs Sebring — Sebring by $16,206 a year. Price level 114.155 against 92.47; property tax 0.88% against 0.73%.

Orlando vs Tampa — Tampa by $353 a year. Price level 101.418 against 100.89; property tax 0.77% against 0.78%.

Jacksonville vs Tampa — Jacksonville by $1,107 a year. Price level 99.484 against 100.89; property tax 0.77% against 0.78%.

Jacksonville vs Orlando — Jacksonville by $1,460 a year. Price level 99.484 against 101.418; property tax 0.77% against 0.77%.

And 207 more pairs of Florida cities, each with its own page.

Every Florida city, and what it can be compared with

The areas themselves, largest first. Each line has what defines that city on the two measures that matter here, and then every comparison it takes part in:

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach — 6.1m people across 3 counties. Price level 114.155, housing 155.551, property tax 0.88%. Compared with Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater — 3.2m people across 4 counties. Price level 100.89, housing 125.839, property tax 0.78%. Compared with Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford — 2.7m people across 4 counties. Price level 101.418, housing 123.374, property tax 0.77%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Jacksonville — 1.6m people across 5 counties. Price level 99.484, housing 109.777, property tax 0.77%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota — 865k people across 2 counties. Price level 102.417, housing 127.95, property tax 0.77%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Cape Coral-Fort Myers — 793k people across 1 county. Price level 102.349, housing 125.113, property tax 0.83%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Lakeland-Winter Haven — 761k people across 1 county. Price level 97.141, housing 95.942, property tax 0.74%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach — 690k people across 2 counties. Price level 99.367, housing 108.375, property tax 0.78%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville — 621k people across 1 county. Price level 100.005, housing 111.731, property tax 0.70%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent — 517k people across 2 counties. Price level 97.717, housing 98.77, property tax 0.60%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Port St. Lucie — 507k people across 2 counties. Price level 100.228, housing 113.642, property tax 0.90%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Tallahassee — 388k people across 4 counties. Price level 93.919, housing 78.528, property tax 0.77%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Ocala — 388k people across 1 county. Price level 95.234, housing 86.23, property tax 0.75%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Naples-Marco Island — 388k people across 1 county. Price level 103.2, housing 129.441, property tax 0.66%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Gainesville — 345k people across 3 counties. Price level 96.733, housing 92.982, property tax 0.92%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin — 294k people across 2 counties. Price level 97.031, housing 94.934, property tax 0.55%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Panama City-Panama City Beach — 207k people across 2 counties. Price level 97.296, housing 96.424, property tax 0.59%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Punta Gorda — 195k people across 1 county. Price level 100.525, housing 113.277, property tax 0.89%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor — 164k people across 1 county. Price level 98.308, housing 101.635, property tax 0.73%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood, Sebring.

Homosassa Springs — 159k people across 1 county. Price level 93.467, housing 78.427, property tax 0.59%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Wildwood, Sebring.

Wildwood-The Villages — 138k people across 1 county. Price level 85.424, housing 51.733, property tax 0.83%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Sebring.

Sebring — 104k people across 1 county. Price level 92.47, housing 73.455, property tax 0.73%. Compared with Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, North Port, Cape Coral, Lakeland, Deltona, Palm Bay, Pensacola, Port St. Lucie, Tallahassee, Ocala, Naples, Gainesville, Crestview, Panama City, Punta Gorda, Sebastian, Homosassa Springs, Wildwood.

The counties behind each rate

Nobody pays a metropolitan area's property tax rate. They pay their county's, and the figures above are those county rates averaged and weighted by how many homes each county holds. Opened up:

Miami averages 0.88% across 3 counties: Miami-Dade County 0.83%, Broward County 0.95%, Palm Beach County 0.88%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.83% in Miami-Dade County to 0.95% in Broward County, which is $490 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Tampa averages 0.78% across 4 counties: Hillsborough County 0.84%, Pinellas County 0.73%, Pasco County 0.76%, Hernando County 0.72%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.72% in Hernando County to 0.84% in Hillsborough County, which is $466 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Orlando averages 0.77% across 4 counties: Orange County 0.78%, Seminole County 0.70%, Lake County 0.79%, Osceola County 0.79%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.70% in Seminole County to 0.79% in Lake County, which is $382 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Jacksonville averages 0.77% across 5 counties: Duval County 0.78%, St. Johns County 0.78%, Clay County 0.74%, Nassau County 0.73%, Baker County 0.63%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.63% in Baker County to 0.78% in Duval County, which is $610 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

North Port averages 0.77% across 2 counties: Sarasota County 0.76%, Manatee County 0.79%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.76% in Sarasota County to 0.79% in Manatee County, which is $142 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Cape Coral averages 0.83% across 1 county: Lee County 0.83%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Lakeland averages 0.74% across 1 county: Polk County 0.74%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Deltona averages 0.78% across 2 counties: Volusia County 0.78%, Flagler County 0.79%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.78% in Volusia County to 0.79% in Flagler County, which is $18 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Palm Bay averages 0.70% across 1 county: Brevard County 0.70%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Pensacola averages 0.60% across 2 counties: Escambia County 0.60%, Santa Rosa County 0.60%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.60% in Santa Rosa County to 0.60% in Escambia County, which is $6 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Port St. Lucie averages 0.90% across 2 counties: St. Lucie County 0.95%, Martin County 0.81%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.81% in Martin County to 0.95% in St. Lucie County, which is $555 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Tallahassee averages 0.77% across 4 counties: Leon County 0.82%, Gadsden County 0.55%, Wakulla County 0.65%, Jefferson County 0.68%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.55% in Gadsden County to 0.82% in Leon County, which is $1,087 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Ocala averages 0.75% across 1 county: Marion County 0.75%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Naples averages 0.66% across 1 county: Collier County 0.66%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Gainesville averages 0.92% across 3 counties: Alachua County 0.98%, Levy County 0.65%, Gilchrist County 0.68%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.65% in Levy County to 0.98% in Alachua County, which is $1,342 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Crestview averages 0.55% across 2 counties: Okaloosa County 0.60%, Walton County 0.45%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.45% in Walton County to 0.60% in Okaloosa County, which is $583 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Panama City averages 0.59% across 2 counties: Bay County 0.60%, Washington County 0.50%. Inside the area the rate runs from 0.50% in Washington County to 0.60% in Bay County, which is $370 a year on a $400,000 home — a real spread inside a single labour market.

Punta Gorda averages 0.89% across 1 county: Charlotte County 0.89%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Sebastian averages 0.73% across 1 county: Indian River County 0.73%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Homosassa Springs averages 0.59% across 1 county: Citrus County 0.59%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Wildwood averages 0.83% across 1 county: Sumter County 0.83%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Sebring averages 0.73% across 1 county: Highlands County 0.73%. One county, so the area rate is that county's rate exactly — no averaging involved.

Which is the limitation of every figure on this page, stated rather than buried: an area rate is an average, and your address decides what you actually pay. The county pages linked above carry the rate, the assessment basis and the source for each one.

Where Florida cities sit among the 380 in the country

A state ranking answers "where in Florida". It does not answer whether Florida is an expensive place to begin with, and the two questions have different answers often enough to be worth separating.

Against all 380 metropolitan areas the Bureau of Economic Analysis prices, Miami ranks 2 and Wildwood ranks 372, counting from the most expensive. The national median area sits at 93.492 — Monroe — so 19 of these 22 Florida areas are dearer than the typical American metropolitan area and 3 are cheaper.

Miami is in the most expensive tenth of the country, which is worth knowing before reading its position in the state table as merely "the dear one".

The distinction matters for a specific reason. Everything on this page holds the income tax constant because these cities share a state; the moment a move crosses a state line that stops being true, and the comparison becomes the harder one — which is what Florida against every other state is for.

The tax that is the same in all 22

Worth spelling out, because it is what makes the ranking above readable at all. On $100,000, in every one of these areas:

Federal income tax — $13,170. Set by Congress, identical everywhere in the United States.

Social Security and Medicare — $7,650. Also federal, and also flat across the country up to the Social Security ceiling.

Florida income tax — $0. The state does not tax wage income at all, so the line is genuinely zero rather than unmodelled. One set of brackets for the whole state.

Local income tax — $0. Florida does not permit counties, cities or school districts to levy their own. That is not a modelling shortcut, it is the law, and it is the condition on which these pages get published: in the eleven states that do permit it, the levying jurisdictions do not line up with metropolitan areas and no honest rate can be assigned.

Which leaves property tax as the only tax in the whole comparison that moves — from $2,186 to $3,688 a year on the same $400,000 home — and the price level as the only other thing. Two variables, both measured, both sourced. It is as clean as a cost-of-living comparison gets.

Wildwood stays on top whether you rent or buy

A ranking built on one salary and one house value is worth exactly as much as its assumptions, so here are the same 22 areas resolved again with those assumptions changed.

Renting, with no property tax at all: Wildwood still leads, by $23,329 over Miami. The order does not depend on owning a house.

On $60,000 instead of $100,000: Wildwood still leads. The gap narrows to $14,069 — smaller in dollars, but a larger share of a smaller salary.

On $250,000: Wildwood still leads, and by $53,193 — the spread widens with income, because the price level applies to everything you have left after tax.

This is the same discipline applied to a single published figure elsewhere on this site: a number without its range is half a number. Every page linked above lets you set your own salary, your own house and your own horizon, and recomputes the whole comparison rather than scaling it.

How this is worked out, and what it does not claim

Every row is the same calculation: gross salary in, federal income tax and FICA out, Florida income tax out, property tax on a $400,000 home out — then what is left divided by that area's price level, so the figure is what the money buys rather than what the payslip says.

The price index is the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parity, 2024, published per metropolitan area with a documented method and broken into housing, goods, utilities and services. Which counties make up each area comes from the Census Bureau delineation file, joined by CBSA code and never by name — there are thirty "Washington County" in the United States and a join on names would have failed silently.

US Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area, 2024 (released 19 February 2026) — read 2026-09-10. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

US Census Bureau — Core Based Statistical Areas delineation file, 2023 (which counties form each metropolitan area) — read 2026-09-10. https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/demo/metro-micro/delineation-files.html

US Census Bureau, American Community Survey — county effective property tax rates and housing units — read 2026-08-31. https://data.census.gov/

What it does not claim: that the city at the top is the better place to live. This measures what a salary buys. Schools, the commute, the weather and how far you are from your family are not in it, and on a move inside one state they are usually what actually decides it.

It also assumes one salary, one house value and a buyer rather than a renter. Every page linked above lets you change all three, and the answer moves with them — on some pairs enough to change which city comes out ahead.

Where to go next

Florida vs every stateThe other silo: all 50 destinations out of this state.Florida property tax by countyWhere every property tax rate on this page comes from.Florida income tax calculatorThe layer that is identical in every row above.Every city comparisonAll 1,522 pairs, indexed by state.

Questions

Which city in Florida leaves you best off?: Wildwood, at $88,824 of purchasing power on $100,000 with a $400,000 home — $22,551 a year more than Miami at the other end of the table. Because the income tax is identical everywhere in Florida, that ranking is made of two things only: the price level and property tax.
Which is the cheapest city in Florida?: Wildwood, at 85.424 on the Bureau of Economic Analysis price index where 100 is the US average, against 114.155 in Miami. Cheapest is not the same as best off, though: property tax is set separately and can move a household by $223 a year on the same house.
Does income tax differ between cities in Florida?: No. Florida sets one set of brackets for the whole state — in fact it does not tax wage income at all, and it does not let counties or cities levy their own income tax. On $100,000 the bill is federal $13,170, FICA $7,650 and state $0 in every one of these 22 areas. That is what makes comparing them clean.
How much does cost of living vary inside Florida?: From 85.424 to 114.155 on the price index — 28.7 points between Wildwood and Miami. In take-home terms that is $22,551 a year of purchasing power on the same salary.
How many Florida city comparisons are there?: 231, one page each, every pair of the 22 metropolitan areas the Bureau of Economic Analysis prices in Florida. Each resolves the same way — income tax, property tax and price level — and each shows the break-even salary in both directions.