Tampa, FL vs Buffalo, NY
Moving from Tampa to Buffalo? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($360,738 → $288,316 median home) and taxes.
Tampa vs Buffalo 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 Tampa, FL, you'd need about $92,630 in Buffalo, NY (−$7,370).
Livability — Tampa, FL: 65 · Buffalo, NY: 61 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,564 sqft in Tampa vs 2,775 sqft in Buffalo ($195 vs $180 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tampa, FL | Buffalo, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,216 | $17,328 | −$6,888 |
| Groceries | $4,949 | $4,868 | −$81 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,895 | −$905 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $3,180 | +$1,524 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $1,600 | −$2,600 |
| Taxes | $4,642 | $18,192 | +$13,550 |
| Total | $44,463 | $49,063 | +$4,600 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tampa, FL | Buffalo, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 94.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.92% | 5.10% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 2.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $360,738 | $288,316 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.4% | 4.8% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $180 |
| Median rent | $2,018 | $1,444 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 2.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.45 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $98 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $87 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.5 | 40.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 95.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 66% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |