El Paso, TX vs Tampa, FL
Moving from El Paso to Tampa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($232,910 → $360,738 median home) and taxes.
El Paso 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 El Paso, TX, you'd need about $112,874 in Tampa, FL (+$12,874).
Livability — El Paso, TX: 74 · Tampa, FL: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,509 sqft in El Paso vs 2,564 sqft in Tampa ($111 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | El Paso, TX | Tampa, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,240 | $24,216 | +$5,976 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,949 | +$302 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $4,800 | +$1,125 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,656 | −$180 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $4,200 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $6,144 | $4,642 | −$1,502 |
| Total | $38,142 | $44,463 | +$6,321 |
Side by side
| Metric | El Paso, TX | Tampa, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 90.8 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.81% | 4.92% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.4% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 67 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.17 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $232,910 | $360,738 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | -3.4% |
| Price per square foot | $111 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,520 | $2,018 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | None | None |
| Property tax rate | 2.13% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |