How Much Does It Cost to Live in Jacksonville? 2026 Rent and Budget Guide

Updated August 2026. Rent figures reflect Apartment List data as of July 2026.

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, Jacksonville's median rent is $1,317 as of July 2026, up 0.38% from June and down 0.23% from a year earlier. Apartment List's July 2026 city data puts the median one-bedroom at $1,108 and the median two-bedroom at $1,303.

The city-to-metro comparison is the more revealing Jacksonville story. Jacksonville's city median sits $41 below the surrounding metro median of $1,358, per Apartment List's July 2026 Rent Index. Expanding your search beyond city limits therefore will not automatically lower your rent. Compare the same apartment size and account for transportation before treating a wider search as savings.

Combining the $1,108 rent with JEA's 2026 example electric bill, JTA's 2026 transit pass, and USDA's May 2026 grocery benchmark produces a $1,640 to $1,690 starting estimate. Add any car costs, separately billed water and sewer, and required property fees before treating that estimate as your monthly budget.

Jacksonville Cost of Living at a Glance

Rent anchors this guide, but the advertised price is only part of what an apartment costs each month. Use these benchmarks to set a starting range, then confirm the costs tied to each property.

What Is the Median Rent in Jacksonville in 2026?

Apartment List Rent Index data for July 2026 show Jacksonville medians of $1,108 for a one-bedroom, $1,303 for a two-bedroom, and $1,317 across all apartment sizes. These figures cover the city, not the surrounding metro.

The median is the market midpoint: half of apartments cost less and half cost more. Apartment List's methodology frames its estimate as the median rent an apartment searcher could expect across the full rental market, not only the apartments advertised right now. The specific building, apartment, and location you choose can rent above or below these figures.

Jacksonville's city median rose 0.38% from June 2026 and fell 0.23% from July 2025. Both moves came in under half a percent, so pricing has held broadly steady over the past year. That steadiness is a citywide midpoint, though. It doesn't promise that any one property followed the trend or is offering a discount, so compare current apartments for the size and location you want.

How Does Jacksonville Rent Compare With Selected Florida Cities?

Based on Apartment List's July 2026 median, Jacksonville's rent across all apartment sizes was $1,317. The table compares four selected Florida cities with that benchmark. It is not a ranking of every Florida rental market.

All figures are Apartment List medians as of July 2026.

These are rent medians, not total-cost comparisons. Miami runs about $607 more than Jacksonville for the same all-sizes median (Apartment List, July 2026), and Tampa about $201 more. Before you treat that gap as savings, compare prices for the same size and factor in what you'll spend getting around each city.

What Income Corresponds to Jacksonville Rent at the 30% Benchmark?

Here's a quick way to test a rent: find the income at which it equals 30% of gross pay, meaning your pay before taxes. Multiply the monthly rent by 12, then divide by 0.30.

Quick math: What annual income corresponds to Jacksonville's $1,108 median one-bedroom rent?

$1,108 × 12 ÷ 0.30 = about $44,320 in annual gross income

Using Apartment List's July 2026 median one-bedroom rent of $1,108, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $44,320 in annual gross income. The $1,303 median two-bedroom corresponds to about $52,120. Read these as planning figures that leave out utilities, not salary requirements or property screening rules. To test a specific listing, swap in its advertised rent. To test your own income against a personal rent range, try the Apartment List Rent Calculator.

Treat 30% as a planning benchmark rather than a verdict on what you can afford. Its value is showing how much room a given rent leaves for everything else you pay.

Many renter households spend more than that. Apartment List's cost-burden research on 2024 American Community Survey data found that 51.8% of U.S. renter households were cost-burdened, meaning they spent more than 30% of income on rent and utilities. That same research puts Florida's statewide rate at 62.1%. Neither figure is Jacksonville-specific, but both show why 30% works as a starting point rather than a description of what renters usually spend.

How Do You Set a Rent Ceiling for a Specific Listing?

The quick math above uses rent alone. HUD counts rent and utilities together, and it treats housing costs above 30% of income as a cost burden. The 30% benchmark is not a universal property-screening standard. Properties set their own income and qualification criteria, so confirm the requirements for each listing. To turn 30% of gross monthly income into a rent target, subtract the utilities you expect to pay separately.

Run it on your gross monthly income, the figure before taxes. Take 30% of it, then subtract your estimated utilities. What's left is your rent target.

At $4,500 in gross monthly income, 30% is $1,350. After about $134 in electricity, the rent target is about $1,216, roughly $108 above the city one-bedroom median. It remains before water, sewer, and other housing charges.

At $3,500 in gross monthly income, the same math gives about $916, roughly $192 below the city one-bedroom median.

A gap between your rent target and the median just shows what would need to change: the listing price, the housing arrangement, or your share of income going to housing. None of those is the right answer for every renter. One caution on the math: this calculation uses gross income, while the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator asks for after-tax income to produce a different estimate. Keep the two inputs separate so you don't mix them up.

What Should You Budget Beyond Rent in Jacksonville?

Jacksonville's rent median can't capture costs that vary by building, lease, and commute. Verify those before you treat the advertised rent as your monthly housing cost.

JEA Electricity

JEA, a local utility, charges residential customers a $19.25 monthly base fee plus $0.11519 per kilowatt-hour for the first 1,000 kilowatt-hours. A kilowatt-hour is the unit of electricity your bill measures. Run a full month at 1,000 kilowatt-hours and you're at about $134 before local taxes and other line items. Read that $134 as an example at that usage level, not a predicted bill. Ask the property for recent electric costs from a similar apartment, then swap in your own expected usage. One timing note: JEA's current residential rates run only through September 30, 2026.

Water and Sewer Billing

Water and sewer depend on your lease. A property may handle them in one of several ways:

• Included in rent
• Charged as a flat monthly fee
• Divided among residents
• Billed directly by JEA

Check the listing and the lease before you assume. If your apartment has a matching direct account with JEA, residential water starts at a $13.60 monthly base, and sewer starts at a $17.03 base plus $5.17 per thousand gallons. Those rates apply only when you hold that direct account.

JTA Transit

A single JTA ride costs $1.75, and a 31-day pass costs $65. The break-even sits right around 38 rides: 37 rides cost $64.75, just under the pass, and 38 rides run $66.50, just over it. If you expect at least 38 paid rides a month, the pass usually wins. Either way, confirm that JTA routes and schedules actually work for your commute before you count on transit. Driving is the other path, and it's personal to you, combining your car payment, insurance, fuel, parking, and maintenance. This guide doesn't publish a single Jacksonville car figure, so that line is yours to fill in.

USDA Grocery Benchmark

The USDA publishes a monthly food-at-home cost that works as a national planning benchmark. These are national estimates for groceries you cook at home, not Jacksonville-specific prices. For one adult aged 20 to 50 on the Low-Cost plan, they run about $330 to $379 a month, and two adults land around $605 to $695 combined. If you already track what you spend, use your own number instead.

How Do Solo and Shared Jacksonville Budgets Compare?

These estimates compare the recurring costs of renting a median one-bedroom alone against each renter's share of a median two-bedroom. Treat them as a floor to build on, since they leave out plenty of a real household budget.

Both estimates include a $65 monthly JTA pass and exclude car costs, personal spending, water and sewer billed separately under the lease, and required parking, pet, or amenity fees.

Sharing lowers the estimated subtotal by about $550 per person, and about $457 of that comes from rent alone. Most of what you save by taking a roommate comes from splitting the rent, then, with only a little from dividing the smaller bills. Whether that tradeoff is worth it is your call.

What Should You Confirm Before Paying an Application Fee?

Use the rent on the listing, not the Jacksonville median, as your working number. Two apartments with the same advertised rent can still leave you with different monthly bills. Here's how to pressure-test a specific listing:

1. Compare the listing's advertised rent with the matching Jacksonville median.
2. Run the rent-only 30% calculation using the listing rent or your expected share.
3. Calculate a rent target using gross income and known utilities.
4. Confirm required property charges, then add transportation and household costs.
5. Compare the resulting monthly cost with your budget before applying.

Jacksonville's city-level data gets the comparison started. The monthly total for the specific listing in front of you is what tells you whether to apply.

How Do You Find Lower Rent in Jacksonville?

Jacksonville's median one-bedroom rent runs $1,108, per Apartment List's July 2026 Rent Index. If your target is lower, compare current one-bedroom listings below that benchmark and include every required recurring charge.

Widening your search area may reduce the advertised rent, but test those savings against transportation costs and commute time. Compare apartments by bedroom count and total monthly price before deciding that one location is cheaper.

Compare Jacksonville With Your Current City

Compare Jacksonville with your current city using the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator. To use it:

1. Enter your current city, Jacksonville, your after-tax household income, and a bedroom preference.
2. Compare the result with your Jacksonville estimate from this guide.
3. Apply your chosen rent target manually while reviewing Jacksonville listings.

Once you set a rent target, browse Jacksonville apartments and check it against real listings.

Appendix: Methodology and Data Sources

Apartment List Rent Index data supplies the rent benchmarks used throughout this guide. The monthly estimates combine those rents with published electricity, transit, and grocery figures from JEA, JTA, and USDA. Income figures are calculations based on the cited rent medians and the 30% rent-to-income benchmark.

Frequently Asked Questions About Jacksonville Rent & Cost of Living

What Is the Average Rent in Jacksonville?

Apartment List reports median rent, not a simple average. The median is the market midpoint, so it's less swayed by a handful of very expensive apartments that can drag an average upward. According to the Apartment List Rent Index, Jacksonville's city median in July 2026 is $1,317 across all sizes, $1,108 for a one-bedroom, and $1,303 for a two-bedroom.

How Does Jacksonville Rent Compare With Other Florida Cities?

Among the selected cities in this guide, Jacksonville's July 2026 median of $1,317 was $201 below Tampa, $208 below Orlando, and $607 below Miami, and $94 above Lakeland. This is a selected comparison, not a ranking of every Florida market.

Is 30% of Income a Hard Limit for Rent?

No. It's a starting point for planning, and no law, salary rule, or property screening test turns on it. A household counts as cost-burdened when it spends more than 30% of income on rent and utilities. Apartment List's analysis of 2024 American Community Survey data found 51.8% of U.S. renter households were cost-burdened, and Florida's rate was 62.1%. Neither figure is Jacksonville-specific. Use the 30% mark to see what a given rent leaves for your other costs, then decide what fits.

How Do Solo and Shared Jacksonville Budgets Compare?

A solo renter in a median one-bedroom has a starting estimate of about $1,640 to $1,690 a month. Two renters sharing a median two-bedroom each have a starting estimate of about $1,085 to $1,135. Sharing lowers the estimate by about $550 per person, with about $457 of that from rent. Both include a monthly JTA pass and exclude car costs and property-specific charges.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in Jacksonville?

Jacksonville does not have one required renter salary. Using Apartment List's July 2026 medians at the rent-only 30% benchmark, the $1,108 one-bedroom corresponds to about $44,320 in annual gross income and the $1,303 two-bedroom to about $52,120. Properties set their own qualification rules, and separately paid costs also affect what works for your budget.

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