Jacksonville, FL vs Santa Cruz, CA
Moving from Jacksonville to Santa Cruz? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($352,994 → $1,157,157 median home) and taxes.
Jacksonville vs Santa Cruz 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 $113,176 in Santa Cruz, CA (+$13,176).
Livability — Jacksonville, FL: 69 · Santa Cruz, CA: 38 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,621 sqft in Jacksonville vs 648 sqft in Santa Cruz ($191 vs $771 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Jacksonville, FL | Santa Cruz, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,412 | $43,188 | +$22,776 |
| Groceries | $4,813 | $5,247 | +$433 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $5,125 | +$325 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $3,804 | +$2,148 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $1,500 | −$2,700 |
| Taxes | $4,713 | $22,398 | +$17,685 |
| Total | $40,594 | $81,262 | +$40,667 |
Side by side
| Metric | Jacksonville, FL | Santa Cruz, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.6 | 112.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.54% | 5.94% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 11.4% | -1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 39 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $6.42 |
| Median home price | $352,994 | $1,157,157 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 11.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.7% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $191 | $771 |
| Median rent | $1,701 | $3,599 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 0.63% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |