Moving to Florida from Alabama
What to Expect
Considering a move from Alabama to Florida? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Alabama to Florida, you would find that Florida is 21.7% more expensive than Alabama. A $75,000 salary in Alabama would need to be roughly $91,300 in Florida to maintain the same lifestyle. Huntsville and Jacksonville are about 420 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Florida? Get a shortlist of towns in Florida that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Florida cheaper than Alabama?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 13.9% more
Groceries
pay 12.6% more
Transportation
pay 5.7% more
Housing
pay 51.5% more
Childcare
pay 2.3% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.2% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Florida?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $91,300
To maintain the same standard of living in Florida
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Florida cost about 27% more than cities in Alabama.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Florida compared to Alabama.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Florida performs significantly better than Alabama across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Florida generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Alabama leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Alabama performs better than Florida across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Alabama generally does better on infrastructure, though Florida leads in internet access.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Florida generally does better on employment & economy, though Alabama leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Florida performs significantly better than Alabama across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Florida vs Alabama
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Huntsville | Jacksonville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 57°/36°F (14°/2°C) | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 81°/59°F (27°/15°C) | 83°/64°F (28°/18°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 89°/67°F (32°/20°C) | 88°/73°F (31°/22°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 64°/42°F (18°/6°C) | 73°/54°F (23°/12°C) |
View all months
| Month | Huntsville | Jacksonville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51°/32°F (10.7°/-0.1°C) | 64°/44°F (18.0°/6.6°C) |
| Feb | 56°/35°F (13.3°/1.9°C) | 67°/46°F (19.5°/7.9°C) |
| Mar | 65°/42°F (18.3°/5.7°C) | 72°/52°F (22.4°/10.9°C) |
| Apr | 74°/50°F (23.1°/10.0°C) | 78°/56°F (25.4°/13.6°C) |
| May | 81°/59°F (27.4°/15.2°C) | 84°/64°F (28.9°/17.7°C) |
| Jun | 88°/67°F (31.2°/19.5°C) | 88°/71°F (31.2°/21.7°C) |
| Jul | 91°/70°F (32.6°/21.3°C) | 90°/73°F (32.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 91°/69°F (32.7°/20.8°C) | 89°/74°F (31.9°/23.1°C) |
| Sep | 85°/62°F (29.4°/16.9°C) | 86°/71°F (30.1°/21.6°C) |
| Oct | 75°/51°F (23.7°/10.6°C) | 80°/63°F (26.4°/17.1°C) |
| Nov | 64°/42°F (17.6°/5.4°C) | 73°/53°F (22.9°/11.8°C) |
| Dec | 53°/34°F (11.9°/1.3°C) | 66°/46°F (19.0°/7.9°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Florida than Alabama?
On average Florida is around 22% pricier than Alabama, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to Florida?
Budget about $22,825 for 3 months in Florida (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Florida safe?
Florida performs significantly better than Alabama across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Florida compared to Alabama?
Florida generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Alabama leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Florida compared to Alabama?
The average high temperature in Jacksonville is 78°F, compared to 73°F in Huntsville. Jacksonville receives around 51.7 in of rainfall per year, while Huntsville gets 54.3 in.
