Dayton, OH vs Tampa, FL
Moving from Dayton to Tampa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($350,000 → $360,738 median home) and taxes.
Dayton vs Tampa at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Dayton, OH, you'd need about $110,929 in Tampa, FL (+$10,929).
Livability — Dayton, OH: 69 · Tampa, FL: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,500 sqft in Dayton vs 2,564 sqft in Tampa ($200 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Dayton, OH | Tampa, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,200 | $24,216 | +$8,016 |
| Groceries | $4,706 | $4,949 | +$243 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $4,800 | +$1,775 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $1,656 | −$444 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $4,200 | +$2,900 |
| Taxes | $8,917 | $4,642 | −$4,275 |
| Total | $36,248 | $44,463 | +$8,215 |
Side by side
| Metric | Dayton, OH | Tampa, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.4 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.28% | 4.92% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.0% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.26 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $350,000 | $360,738 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.2× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | -3.4% |
| Price per square foot | $200 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,350 | $2,018 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.68% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $38 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $104 | $88 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 52 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.6 | 49.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 28.2 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 50% | 66% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |