Moving to Florida from Maryland
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Maryland to Florida — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Maryland to Florida, you would find that Florida is 2.5% cheaper than Maryland. A $75,000 salary in Maryland would need to be roughly $73,100 in Florida to maintain the same lifestyle. Baltimore and Jacksonville are about 680 mi apart.
Is Florida cheaper than Maryland?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 10.3% more
Groceries
pay 2.0% less
Transportation
pay 5.8% less
Housing
pay 4.0% more
Childcare
pay 37.0% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.2% 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 → $73,100
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 14% more than cities in Maryland.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Maryland to Florida.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Florida performs significantly better than Maryland 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
Maryland generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Florida leads in adult obesity rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Florida generally does better on what about housing?, though Maryland leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Maryland 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
Maryland 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
Maryland generally does better on family life, though Florida leads in life expectancy.
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 Maryland
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Baltimore | Jacksonville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 51°/35°F (11°/2°C) | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 79°/61°F (26°/16°C) | 83°/64°F (28°/18°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 88°/71°F (31°/22°C) | 88°/73°F (31°/22°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 60°/44°F (16°/7°C) | 73°/54°F (23°/12°C) |
View all months
| Month | Baltimore | Jacksonville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46°/32°F (8.0°/-0.1°C) | 64°/44°F (18.0°/6.6°C) |
| Feb | 49°/34°F (9.5°/1.2°C) | 67°/46°F (19.5°/7.9°C) |
| Mar | 59°/40°F (14.8°/4.5°C) | 72°/52°F (22.4°/10.9°C) |
| Apr | 69°/51°F (20.8°/10.4°C) | 78°/56°F (25.4°/13.6°C) |
| May | 79°/61°F (26.3°/16.1°C) | 84°/64°F (28.9°/17.7°C) |
| Jun | 89°/71°F (31.6°/21.5°C) | 88°/71°F (31.2°/21.7°C) |
| Jul | 92°/75°F (33.4°/23.9°C) | 90°/73°F (32.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 90°/73°F (32.2°/22.8°C) | 89°/74°F (31.9°/23.1°C) |
| Sep | 83°/65°F (28.1°/18.5°C) | 86°/71°F (30.1°/21.6°C) |
| Oct | 71°/54°F (21.9°/12.3°C) | 80°/63°F (26.4°/17.1°C) |
| Nov | 60°/44°F (15.8°/6.4°C) | 73°/53°F (22.9°/11.8°C) |
| Dec | 50°/35°F (9.8°/1.6°C) | 66°/46°F (19.0°/7.9°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Florida than Maryland?
Yes — Florida is on average about 3% cheaper than Maryland. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Florida?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $18,275 in Florida on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Florida safe?
Florida performs significantly better than Maryland across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Florida compared to Maryland?
Maryland generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Florida leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in Florida compared to Maryland?
The average high temperature in Jacksonville is 78°F, compared to 70°F in Baltimore. Jacksonville receives around 51.7 in of rainfall per year, while Baltimore gets 42.4 in.
