Merced, CA vs Miami, FL
Moving from Merced to Miami? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($419,171 → $475,622 median home) and taxes.
Merced vs Miami 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 Merced, CA, you'd need about $112,518 in Miami, FL (+$12,518).
Livability — Merced, CA: 57 · Miami, FL: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,790 sqft in Merced vs 1,945 sqft in Miami ($279 vs $257 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Merced, CA | Miami, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,700 | $32,316 | +$8,616 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $5,091 | −$155 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $4,800 | −$325 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,656 | −$2,148 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $4,200 | +$2,700 |
| Taxes | $18,715 | $5,772 | −$12,943 |
| Total | $58,091 | $53,835 | −$4,255 |
Side by side
| Metric | Merced, CA | Miami, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.6 | 112.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 10.70% | 5.24% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $6.38 |
| Median home price | $419,171 | $475,622 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.4% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $279 | $257 |
| Median rent | $1,975 | $2,693 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.68% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $38 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $138 | $88 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 52 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 13.5 | 67.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 75% | 70% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |