Jacksonville vs Yakima
Metro-area medians — Jacksonville, NC Metro Area vs Yakima, WA Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Jacksonville comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.
Jacksonville is about 4% cheaper to live in, while Yakima households earn about 3% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches about as far in either.
Their widest everyday difference: Jacksonville has the tighter job market — 5.6% unemployment versus 7.8%.
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.
On $75,000 for just you, Yakima leaves you about $462/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.
Choose Jacksonville for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
- + Median home value
- + Unemployment
- + Bachelor's degree or higher
More comparisons
Metros closest to Jacksonville and Yakima on cost, income, size, and education.
Jacksonville vs Yakima — frequently asked
- Is Jacksonville cheaper than Yakima?
- Jacksonville is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 4% below Yakima's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
- Which has higher household income, Jacksonville or Yakima?
- Yakima has the higher median household income — $75,399 versus $73,004 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 3% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Jacksonville or Yakima?
- It is roughly a wash. After adjusting income for local prices, a typical paycheck is worth about the same in both metros ($79,279 versus $78,915).
- Which has cheaper rent, Jacksonville or Yakima?
- Yakima has cheaper rent — a median of $1,106/mo versus $1,389/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).