Tampa, FL vs Roanoke, VA
Moving from Tampa to Roanoke? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($360,738 → $301,139 median home) and taxes.
Tampa vs Roanoke 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 $89,004 in Roanoke, VA (−$10,996).
Livability — Tampa, FL: 65 · Roanoke, VA: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,564 sqft in Tampa vs 3,320 sqft in Roanoke ($195 vs $151 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tampa, FL | Roanoke, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,216 | $16,836 | −$7,380 |
| Groceries | $4,949 | $4,853 | −$95 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,080 | −$1,720 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,872 | +$216 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $1,500 | −$2,700 |
| Taxes | $4,642 | $9,549 | +$4,907 |
| Total | $44,463 | $37,690 | −$6,773 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tampa, FL | Roanoke, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 91.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.92% | 4.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 0.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.19 |
| Median home price | $360,738 | $301,139 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.4% | 3.8% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $151 |
| Median rent | $2,018 | $1,403 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 0.81% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 28 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |