Jacksonville, FL vs Salem, OR
Moving from Jacksonville to Salem? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,994 → $454,689 median home) and taxes.
Jacksonville vs Salem 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 Jacksonville, FL, you'd need about $102,824 in Salem, OR (+$2,824).
Livability — Jacksonville, FL: 69 · Salem, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Jacksonville vs 1,869 sqft in Salem ($191 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Jacksonville, FL | Salem, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,412 | $19,536 | −$876 |
| Groceries | $4,813 | $5,239 | +$426 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,680 | −$1,120 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,704 | +$48 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $900 | −$3,300 |
| Taxes | $4,713 | $13,135 | +$8,422 |
| Total | $40,594 | $44,194 | +$3,600 |
Side by side
| Metric | Jacksonville, FL | Salem, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.6 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.54% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 11.4% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $352,994 | $454,689 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.7% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $268 |
| Median rent | $1,701 | $1,628 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 47.6 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 63% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |