Philadelphia, PA vs Gainesville, FL
Moving from Philadelphia to Gainesville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $306,605 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia vs Gainesville 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 Philadelphia, PA, you'd need about $94,992 in Gainesville, FL (−$5,008).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Gainesville, FL: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 3,018 sqft in Gainesville ($223 vs $166 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Gainesville, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $20,172 | −$2,796 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,813 | −$95 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $4,800 | +$1,360 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,656 | −$660 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $4,200 | +$3,000 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $4,548 | −$5,644 |
| Total | $45,025 | $40,189 | −$4,835 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Gainesville, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 97.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 4.90% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 23.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 38 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.53 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $306,605 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | -1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $166 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,681 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |