Moving to Florida from Pennsylvania
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Pennsylvania to Florida — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Pennsylvania to Florida, you would find that Florida is 7.4% more expensive than Pennsylvania. A $75,000 salary in Pennsylvania would need to be roughly $80,500 in Florida to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Jacksonville averages 78°F vs 65°F in Philadelphia, making it significantly warmer. Philadelphia and Jacksonville are about 760 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 Pennsylvania?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 13.9% more
Groceries
pay 1.2% more
Transportation
pay 4.3% less
Housing
pay 26.7% more
Childcare
pay 33.7% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.2% 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 → $80,500
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 29% more than cities in Pennsylvania.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania generally does better on safety, though Florida leads in property crime rate.
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
Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Philadelphia | Jacksonville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) | 83°/64°F (28°/18°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) | 88°/73°F (31°/22°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) | 73°/54°F (23°/12°C) |
View all months
| Month | Philadelphia | Jacksonville |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) | 64°/44°F (18.0°/6.6°C) |
| Feb | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) | 67°/46°F (19.5°/7.9°C) |
| Mar | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) | 72°/52°F (22.4°/10.9°C) |
| Apr | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) | 78°/56°F (25.4°/13.6°C) |
| May | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) | 84°/64°F (28.9°/17.7°C) |
| Jun | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) | 88°/71°F (31.2°/21.7°C) |
| Jul | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) | 90°/73°F (32.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) | 89°/74°F (31.9°/23.1°C) |
| Sep | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) | 86°/71°F (30.1°/21.6°C) |
| Oct | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) | 80°/63°F (26.4°/17.1°C) |
| Nov | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) | 73°/53°F (22.9°/11.8°C) |
| Dec | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) | 66°/46°F (19.0°/7.9°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Florida than Pennsylvania?
Day-to-day costs in Florida run about 7% higher than Pennsylvania on average; specific cities can swing further.
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 $20,125 in Florida for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Florida safe?
Pennsylvania generally does better on safety, though Florida leads in property crime rate.
How is healthcare in Florida compared to Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Florida leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in Florida compared to Pennsylvania?
The average high temperature in Jacksonville is 78°F, compared to 65°F in Philadelphia. Jacksonville receives around 51.7 in of rainfall per year, while Philadelphia gets 41.5 in.
