Moving to Texas from Florida
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Florida to Texas — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Florida to Texas, you would find that Texas is 13.0% cheaper than Florida. A $75,000 salary in Florida would need to be roughly $65,300 in Texas to maintain the same lifestyle. Jacksonville and Houston are about 820 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Texas? Get a shortlist of towns in Texas that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Texas cheaper than Florida?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 11.1% less
Groceries
pay 11.1% less
Transportation
pay 0.7% less
Housing
pay 25.1% less
Childcare
pay 6.9% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.6% 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 Texas?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $65,300
To maintain the same standard of living in Texas
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 Texas cost about 21% less than cities in Florida.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Florida to Texas.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Florida performs better than Texas 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 performs better than Texas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Texas generally does better on what about housing?, though Florida leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Florida generally does better on infrastructure, though Texas 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
Texas generally does better on employment & economy, though Florida leads in poverty rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Florida performs better than Texas 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 Texas vs Florida
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Jacksonville | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) | 67°/48°F (20°/9°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 83°/64°F (28°/18°C) | 86°/67°F (30°/19°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 88°/73°F (31°/22°C) | 93°/73°F (34°/23°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 73°/54°F (23°/12°C) | 73°/53°F (23°/11°C) |
View all months
| Month | Jacksonville | Houston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 64°/44°F (18.0°/6.6°C) | 63°/43°F (17.2°/6.2°C) |
| Feb | 67°/46°F (19.5°/7.9°C) | 66°/47°F (19.1°/8.1°C) |
| Mar | 72°/52°F (22.4°/10.9°C) | 73°/53°F (22.8°/11.4°C) |
| Apr | 78°/56°F (25.4°/13.6°C) | 80°/59°F (26.4°/15.2°C) |
| May | 84°/64°F (28.9°/17.7°C) | 86°/68°F (30.2°/19.8°C) |
| Jun | 88°/71°F (31.2°/21.7°C) | 91°/73°F (33.0°/22.9°C) |
| Jul | 90°/73°F (32.4°/22.7°C) | 94°/75°F (34.3°/23.9°C) |
| Aug | 89°/74°F (31.9°/23.1°C) | 94°/75°F (34.7°/23.8°C) |
| Sep | 86°/71°F (30.1°/21.6°C) | 90°/70°F (32.1°/21.0°C) |
| Oct | 80°/63°F (26.4°/17.1°C) | 82°/61°F (27.8°/16.1°C) |
| Nov | 73°/53°F (22.9°/11.8°C) | 72°/52°F (22.5°/11.2°C) |
| Dec | 66°/46°F (19.0°/7.9°C) | 64°/45°F (17.9°/7.0°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Texas than Florida?
Yes — Texas is on average about 13% cheaper than Florida. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Texas?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $16,325 in Texas on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Texas safe?
Florida performs better than Texas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Texas compared to Florida?
Florida performs better than Texas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Texas compared to Florida?
The average high temperature in Houston is 80°F, compared to 78°F in Jacksonville. Houston receives around 49.8 in of rainfall per year, while Jacksonville gets 51.7 in.
