Washington, DC vs Port St. Lucie, FL
Moving from Washington to Port St. Lucie? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($583,013 → $383,275 median home) and taxes.
Washington vs Port St. Lucie 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 Washington, DC, you'd need about $93,290 in Port St. Lucie, FL (−$6,710).
Livability — Washington, DC: 39 · Port St. Lucie, FL: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,286 sqft in Washington vs 2,413 sqft in Port St. Lucie ($389 vs $207 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Washington, DC | Port St. Lucie, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $28,992 | $27,984 | −$1,008 |
| Groceries | $5,318 | $4,813 | −$504 |
| Transportation | $3,855 | $4,800 | +$945 |
| Utilities | $2,748 | $1,656 | −$1,092 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $4,200 | +$2,800 |
| Taxes | $17,710 | $5,259 | −$12,451 |
| Total | $60,023 | $48,712 | −$11,310 |
Side by side
| Metric | Washington, DC | Port St. Lucie, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 109.5 | 102.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.87% | 5.48% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.2% | 8.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.23 | $5.81 |
| Median home price | $583,013 | $383,275 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.5% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $389 | $207 |
| Median rent | $2,416 | $2,332 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.0% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.75% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.95% | 0.96% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $26,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 34 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 25.4 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 1,000 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 29 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |