Is Jacksonville cheaper than Sacramento?

Jacksonville is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 7% below Sacramento's (BEA Regional Price Parities).

Which has higher household income, Jacksonville or Sacramento?

Sacramento has the higher median household income — $98,775 versus $82,053 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 20% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Jacksonville or Sacramento?

A paycheck stretches further in Sacramento. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $92,599 there versus $82,479 in Jacksonville.

Which has cheaper rent, Jacksonville or Sacramento?

Jacksonville has cheaper rent — a median of $1,625/mo versus $1,904/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Jacksonville vs Sacramento

Metro-area medians — Jacksonville, FL Metro Area vs Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Jacksonville comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.

Jacksonville is about 7% cheaper to live in, while Sacramento households earn about 20% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Sacramento.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Annual salary (gross)

Household size

Jacksonville, FL

$61,314

take-home / yr · 18% to tax

$61,632

real value after local prices

Sacramento, CA

$58,296

take-home / yr · 22% to tax

$54,651

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Jacksonville leaves you about $6,980/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure

Jacksonville

Sacramento

Livability (CityLedger)

53/100

59/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

99.5

106.7

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$82,479

$92,599

Median household income

$82,053

$98,775

Median rent

$1,625/mo

$1,904/mo

Median home value

$375,200

$605,500

Unemployment

4.6%

5.9%

Bachelor's degree or higher

38.3%

Average commute

27.4 min

27.7 min

Air quality (median AQI)

Avg temperature

71°F

63°F

Choose Jacksonville for

+ Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
+ Median rent
+ Median home value
+ Unemployment
+ Air quality (median AQI)

Full Jacksonville profile →

Choose Sacramento for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median household income

Full Sacramento profile →

Jacksonville vs Sacramento — frequently asked

Is Jacksonville cheaper than Sacramento?: Jacksonville is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 7% below Sacramento's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
Which has higher household income, Jacksonville or Sacramento?: Sacramento has the higher median household income — $98,775 versus $82,053 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 20% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Jacksonville or Sacramento?: A paycheck stretches further in Sacramento. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $92,599 there versus $82,479 in Jacksonville.
Which has cheaper rent, Jacksonville or Sacramento?: Jacksonville has cheaper rent — a median of $1,625/mo versus $1,904/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).