Salem, OR vs Jacksonville, FL
Moving from Salem to Jacksonville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($454,689 → $352,994 median home) and taxes.
Salem vs Jacksonville 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 Salem, OR, you'd need about $97,254 in Jacksonville, FL (−$2,746).
Livability — Salem, OR: 59 · Jacksonville, FL: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,869 sqft in Salem vs 2,621 sqft in Jacksonville ($268 vs $191 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Salem, OR | Jacksonville, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,536 | $20,412 | +$876 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $4,813 | −$425 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $4,800 | +$1,120 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,656 | −$48 |
| Insurance | $900 | $4,200 | +$3,300 |
| Taxes | $13,135 | $4,713 | −$8,422 |
| Total | $44,194 | $40,594 | −$3,599 |
Side by side
| Metric | Salem, OR | Jacksonville, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 99.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.41% | 4.54% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 11.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 35 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $454,689 | $352,994 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.3× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $191 |
| Median rent | $1,628 | $1,701 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |