Moving to Florida from California
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from California to Florida — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from California to Florida, you would find that Florida is 15.1% cheaper than California. A $75,000 salary in California would need to be roughly $65,361 in Florida to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from California to Florida.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $65,361
To maintain the same standard of living in Florida
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 5.7% less
Groceries
pay 7.7% less
Transportation
pay 14.1% less
Housing
pay 12.9% less
Childcare
pay 39.4% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 20.8% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
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 20% less than cities in California.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How California and Florida stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Florida performs significantly better than California 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
California performs better than Florida across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Florida performs significantly better than California across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
California generally does better on infrastructure, though Florida leads in average commute.
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
California generally does better on employment & economy, though Florida leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
California performs better than Florida across all family life metrics.
Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, OECD Regional Demography, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey)
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Sacramento | Tallahassee |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 60°/41°F (15°/5°C) | 68°/43°F (20°/6°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 79°/51°F (26°/11°C) | 86°/61°F (30°/16°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 90°/57°F (32°/14°C) | 91°/71°F (33°/22°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 65°/44°F (18°/7°C) | 73°/48°F (23°/9°C) |
View all months
| Month | Sacramento | Tallahassee |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 54°/39°F (12.1°/3.8°C) | 64°/39°F (17.5°/3.9°C) |
| Feb | 60°/41°F (15.7°/5.2°C) | 67°/42°F (19.7°/5.5°C) |
| Mar | 65°/44°F (18.4°/6.7°C) | 74°/47°F (23.2°/8.4°C) |
| Apr | 71°/46°F (21.7°/7.9°C) | 80°/52°F (26.6°/11.3°C) |
| May | 80°/51°F (26.6°/10.6°C) | 87°/62°F (30.6°/16.4°C) |
| Jun | 87°/56°F (30.6°/13.2°C) | 91°/69°F (32.8°/20.8°C) |
| Jul | 92°/58°F (33.4°/14.7°C) | 92°/72°F (33.4°/22.2°C) |
| Aug | 91°/58°F (32.9°/14.4°C) | 92°/72°F (33.1°/22.3°C) |
| Sep | 87°/56°F (30.7°/13.2°C) | 88°/68°F (31.3°/20.1°C) |
| Oct | 78°/50°F (25.3°/10.1°C) | 81°/57°F (27.4°/14.1°C) |
| Nov | 64°/43°F (17.7°/6.0°C) | 73°/47°F (22.8°/8.6°C) |
| Dec | 54°/38°F (12.2°/3.6°C) | 65°/41°F (18.5°/5.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Florida than California?
Generally yes: Florida runs about 13% cheaper than California on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Florida?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $16,340 in Florida for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Florida safe?
Florida performs significantly better than California across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Florida compared to California?
California performs better than Florida across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Florida compared to California?
The average high temperature in Tallahassee is 80°F, compared to 74°F in Sacramento. Tallahassee receives around 59.2 in of rainfall per year, while Sacramento gets 18.5 in.
