Moving to Florida from Colorado
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Colorado to Florida — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Colorado to Florida, you would find that Florida is 4.3% cheaper than Colorado. A $75,000 salary in Colorado would need to be roughly $71,800 in Florida to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Jacksonville averages 78°F vs 65°F in Denver, making it significantly warmer. Denver and Jacksonville are about 1,450 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 Colorado?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 3.2% more
Groceries
pay 0.1% less
Transportation
pay 3.9% less
Housing
pay 5.3% less
Childcare
pay 13.8% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.3% 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.
What salary do you need in Florida?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $71,800
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 10% more than cities in Colorado.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Colorado 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 Colorado 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
Colorado 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 Colorado across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Colorado performs better than Florida across all infrastructure metrics.
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
Colorado performs better than Florida across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Colorado performs better than Florida 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 Colorado
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Denver | Jacksonville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 48°/21°F (9°/-6°C) | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 72°/43°F (22°/6°C) | 83°/64°F (28°/18°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/55°F (29°/13°C) | 88°/73°F (31°/22°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 53°/26°F (12°/-3°C) | 73°/54°F (23°/12°C) |
View all months
| Month | Denver | Jacksonville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44°/17°F (6.7°/-8.1°C) | 64°/44°F (18.0°/6.6°C) |
| Feb | 46°/19°F (7.9°/-7.3°C) | 67°/46°F (19.5°/7.9°C) |
| Mar | 54°/26°F (12.4°/-3.1°C) | 72°/52°F (22.4°/10.9°C) |
| Apr | 62°/33°F (16.4°/0.7°C) | 78°/56°F (25.4°/13.6°C) |
| May | 71°/43°F (21.9°/5.9°C) | 84°/64°F (28.9°/17.7°C) |
| Jun | 82°/52°F (28.0°/11.3°C) | 88°/71°F (31.2°/21.7°C) |
| Jul | 89°/59°F (31.9°/14.9°C) | 90°/73°F (32.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 87°/58°F (30.7°/14.4°C) | 89°/74°F (31.9°/23.1°C) |
| Sep | 78°/48°F (25.8°/9.1°C) | 86°/71°F (30.1°/21.6°C) |
| Oct | 65°/37°F (18.5°/2.6°C) | 80°/63°F (26.4°/17.1°C) |
| Nov | 52°/24°F (11.2°/-4.2°C) | 73°/53°F (22.9°/11.8°C) |
| Dec | 43°/17°F (6.0°/-8.3°C) | 66°/46°F (19.0°/7.9°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Florida than Colorado?
Generally yes: Florida runs about 4% cheaper than Colorado 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 $17,950 in Florida for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Florida safe?
Florida performs significantly better than Colorado across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Florida compared to Colorado?
Colorado performs better than Florida across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Florida compared to Colorado?
The average high temperature in Jacksonville is 78°F, compared to 65°F in Denver. Jacksonville receives around 51.7 in of rainfall per year, while Denver gets 14.3 in.
