Jacksonville composite
59.0 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Jacksonville vs Port St. Lucie
Jacksonville, FL and Port St. Lucie, FL side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 59.0
- Jacksonville Life Score
- B+
- Jacksonville grade
- 47.7
- Port St. Lucie Life Score
- C+
- Port St. Lucie grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Jacksonville scores higher on 5 (cost of living, wages, rent, safety, childcare) and Port St. Lucie on 2 (schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Jacksonville vs Port St. Lucie across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Jacksonville Port St. Lucie ◗
cost of living
24
22
wages
57
39
rent
80
17
safety
87
84
schools
83
86
childcare
51
48
environment
43
71
Jacksonville and Port St. Lucie differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Jacksonville has a cost-of-living index of 99.5 vs Port St. Lucie's 100.2 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $67,763 in Jacksonville and $62,013 in Port St. Lucie. A 2-bedroom averages $1,103/mo vs $1,757/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Jacksonville vs Port St. Lucie Comparison
Jacksonville (FL) and Port St. Lucie (FL) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 99.5 for Jacksonville against 100.2 for Port St. Lucie, a 0.7-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,103/mo in Jacksonville and $1,757/mo in Port St. Lucie, a $654/mo difference that compounds to $7,848 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $67,763 across 749,800 jobs in Jacksonville against $62,013 across 160,790 jobs in Port St. Lucie. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Jacksonville carries the same local purchasing power as $100,748 in Port St. Lucie - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 210.3 per 100,000 residents in FL vs 210.3 in FL, with property-crime rates of 1030.0 and 1030.0 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: FL lists 4,029 public schools at a 17.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while FL lists 4,029 schools at 17.8:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $10,505/yr in the Jacksonville area versus $10,505/yr in Port St. Lucie - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Jacksonville and Port St. Lucie are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Port St. Lucie composite
47.7 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-0.7 pts
Jacksonville vs Port St. Lucie BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$654 /mo
Port St. Lucie priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Jacksonville
Jacksonville composite (Grade B+)
Port St. Lucie
Port St. Lucie composite (Grade C+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Jacksonville | Port St. Lucie |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 99.5 | 100.2 |
| Goods | 96.2 | 96.2 |
| Services | 87.5 | 87.0 |
| Rents | 109.8 | 113.6 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Port St. Lucie gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Jacksonville?
$
Equivalent in Port St. Lucie:
$100,748
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Jacksonville: 99.5, Port St. Lucie: 100.2, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Jacksonville | Port St. Lucie |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $903/mo | $1,455/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $922/mo | $1,467/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,103/mo | $1,757/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,512/mo | $2,421/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,708/mo | $2,579/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Jacksonville | Port St. Lucie |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $67,763 | $62,013 |
| Total Employment | 749,800 | 160,790 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Jacksonville (FL) | Port St. Lucie (FL) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 210.3 | 210.3 |
| Property Crime | 1030.0 | 1030.0 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | FL | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 4,029 | 4,029 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 17.8:1 | 17.8:1 |
| Charter Schools | 17.9% | 17.9% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | FL | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $10,505/yr | $10,505/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $8,611/yr | $8,611/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,983/yr | $7,983/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | FL | FL |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 864 | 864 |
| Water Systems | 1,516 | 1,516 |
| Superfund Sites | 81 | 81 |
| Water Violations | 2,676 | 2,676 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Jacksonville | Port St. Lucie |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 51.0 | 40.0 |
| Good Air Days | 49.7% | 86.3% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | FL | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 9/100 | 9/100 |
| Total Violations | 184,355 | 184,355 |
| Health-Based Violations | 24,266 | 24,266 |
| Systems with Violations | 93.2% | 93.2% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | FL | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 612 | 612 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | FL | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 29/100 | 29/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 75.7 | 75.7 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 72.9 | 72.9 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Jacksonville more expensive than Port St. Lucie? ▼
Jacksonville has a cost of living index of 99.5 compared to Port St. Lucie's 100.2 (national average = 100). Port St. Lucie is 0.7 points above Jacksonville on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Jacksonville and Port St. Lucie? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,103/mo in Jacksonville vs $1,757/mo in Port St. Lucie, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $903/mo to $1,455/mo.
How do salaries compare between Jacksonville and Port St. Lucie? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $67,763 in Jacksonville and $62,013 in Port St. Lucie, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Jacksonville has the same purchasing power as $100,748 in Port St. Lucie.
Is Jacksonville or Port St. Lucie safer? ▼
At the state level, FL has a violent crime rate of 210.3 per 100,000 residents compared to FL's 210.3 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1030.0 vs 1030.0 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Jacksonville and Port St. Lucie? ▼
FL has 4,029 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.8:1, while FL has 4,029 schools at 17.8:1. Charter schools make up 17.9% of FL schools vs 17.9% in FL. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial