Tuscaloosa, AL vs Jacksonville, FL
Moving from Tuscaloosa to Jacksonville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($223,201 → $352,994 median home) and taxes.
Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa, AL, you'd need about $111,826 in Jacksonville, FL (+$11,826).
Livability — Tuscaloosa, AL: 74 · Jacksonville, FL: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,591 sqft in Tuscaloosa vs 2,621 sqft in Jacksonville ($109 vs $191 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tuscaloosa, AL | Jacksonville, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,820 | $20,412 | +$2,592 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $4,813 | +$84 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $4,800 | +$1,335 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $1,656 | −$228 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $4,200 | +$1,800 |
| Taxes | $8,901 | $4,713 | −$4,187 |
| Total | $39,199 | $40,594 | +$1,396 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tuscaloosa, AL | Jacksonville, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.1 | 99.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.59% | 4.54% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 13.9% | 11.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $223,201 | $352,994 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $109 | $191 |
| Median rent | $1,485 | $1,701 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.33% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $38 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $117 | $88 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 52 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 56.6 | 47.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.4 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 63% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |