Fargo, ND vs Orlando, FL
Moving from Fargo to Orlando? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($327,854 → $387,733 median home) and taxes.
Fargo vs Orlando 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 Fargo, ND, you'd need about $113,973 in Orlando, FL (+$13,973).
Livability — Fargo, ND: 68 · Orlando, FL: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,592 sqft in Fargo vs 2,385 sqft in Orlando ($193 vs $210 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fargo, ND | Orlando, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,872 | $23,724 | +$9,852 |
| Groceries | $4,850 | $4,813 | −$36 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $4,800 | +$1,670 |
| Utilities | $1,332 | $1,656 | +$324 |
| Insurance | $2,100 | $4,200 | +$2,100 |
| Taxes | $8,083 | $4,915 | −$3,168 |
| Total | $33,367 | $44,108 | +$10,742 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fargo, ND | Orlando, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.1 | 101.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.11% | 5.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.2% | 12.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $5.78 |
| Median home price | $327,854 | $387,733 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.5× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.2% | -3.1% |
| Price per square foot | $193 | $210 |
| Median rent | $1,156 | $1,977 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.04% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.20% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 18 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,100 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 12.3 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $38 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $70 | $88 |
| Home internet / mo | $88 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 290 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | -2 | 52 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 22.6 | 51.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 50.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |