Providence, RI vs Palm Bay, FL
Moving from Providence to Palm Bay? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $344,841 median home) and taxes.
Providence vs Palm Bay 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 Providence, RI, you'd need about $99,814 in Palm Bay, FL (−$186).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Palm Bay, FL: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 2,682 sqft in Palm Bay ($328 vs $186 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Palm Bay, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $23,040 | −$2,916 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $4,813 | −$108 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $4,800 | +$925 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $1,656 | −$1,404 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $4,200 | +$2,500 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $4,459 | −$8,662 |
| Total | $52,634 | $42,968 | −$9,665 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Palm Bay, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 101.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 7.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.77 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $344,841 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | -2.2% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $186 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $1,920 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $92 | $38 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $80 | $88 |
| Home internet / mo | $67 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 52 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 47.5 | 51.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 36.6 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 68% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |