Santa Cruz, CA vs Tampa, FL
Moving from Santa Cruz to Tampa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,157,157 → $360,738 median home) and taxes.
Santa Cruz vs Tampa 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 Santa Cruz, CA, you'd need about $90,866 in Tampa, FL (−$9,134).
Livability — Santa Cruz, CA: 38 · Tampa, FL: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 648 sqft in Santa Cruz vs 2,564 sqft in Tampa ($771 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Santa Cruz, CA | Tampa, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $43,188 | $24,216 | −$18,972 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $4,949 | −$298 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $4,800 | −$325 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,656 | −$2,148 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $4,200 | +$2,700 |
| Taxes | $22,398 | $4,642 | −$17,756 |
| Total | $81,262 | $44,463 | −$36,799 |
Side by side
| Metric | Santa Cruz, CA | Tampa, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.8 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.94% | 4.92% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.7% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 39 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.42 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $1,157,157 | $360,738 |
| Home price ÷ income | 11.1× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | -3.4% |
| Price per square foot | $771 | $195 |
| Median rent | $3,599 | $2,018 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.63% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 28 |
| 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 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |