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

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

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, the median rent across all apartment sizes in Jacksonville is $1,322 as of August 2026, with one-bedrooms at $1,112 and two-bedrooms at $1,308. That runs about 5% below the national median of $1,390.

Rent inside the city runs below the metro figure at every unit size, and because that metro figure includes Jacksonville itself, the areas beyond the city line sit higher still. Widening a search outward moves toward more expensive ground rather than less. A one-bedroom with power and groceries comes to around $1,629 a month, before water, sewer, transport, and anything else.

Jacksonville Cost of Living at a Glance

Rent anchors this guide, and the advertised price covers one part of the monthly bill. The figures below set a starting range for Jacksonville.

Rent values are Apartment List August 2026 city-level estimates. Full method and sources are in the appendix.

How to use these numbers: Start with the rent for the unit size you're considering. Add the planning estimates that apply to you, then replace them with listing-specific charges and your expected usage.

The electricity figure expires on September 30. JEA's approved rate change takes effect the next day, and the electricity section gives the new number.

What Is the Median Rent in Jacksonville in 2026?

The median one-bedroom rent in Jacksonville is $1,112 as of August 2026, according to the Apartment List Rent Index. Two-bedrooms run $1,308 and the all-sizes median is $1,322.

Rent here edged up 0.49% over the past year while the national median fell 0.76%, and it rose another 0.24% month over month. Both moves are small, and what they show is steadiness rather than a market going anywhere in particular.

These are citywide figures, and they do not establish what any individual building is asking or offering. Ask each property directly about concessions, fees, and the move-in total, then compare the quote you get with the medians above.

How the City Median Compares With the Metro Median

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, the Jacksonville metro median is $1,363 across all apartment sizes as of August 2026, against the city's $1,322. The city runs below its metro at every unit size, but the gap almost disappears on the smaller units.

The city sits below the metro at all three sizes, which tells you something about the areas outside it. A combined median always falls between the medians of its parts, and the metro figure includes Jacksonville, so the non-city remainder has to sit above the metro number. Searching outward moves toward higher rent. How much higher depends on what you want: the gap runs 3.0% across all sizes but only $5 at one bedroom.

What the metro figure cannot tell you is the number for any particular town or county outside Jacksonville, only the direction. None of those areas was measured on its own here.

How Does Jacksonville Rent Compare With Other Florida Cities?

The table sets Jacksonville against selected Florida cities and the national median. It is not a ranking of every Florida rental market.

All figures are Apartment List medians as of August 2026.

Jacksonville is the cheaper end of urban Florida. Only Tallahassee comes in lower among the cities here, by $22. The gaps that matter run the other way: Tampa and Orlando are around $200 more, and Miami is $605 more, which is nearly half again Jacksonville's entire median.

These are rent medians, not total-cost comparisons, so before treating a lower-cost city as savings, compare the same unit size and price the commute in each place.

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

Using Apartment List's August 2026 median one-bedroom rent of $1,112, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $44,480 in annual gross income.

Each income figure is the monthly rent multiplied by 12 and divided by 0.30. The shared row assumes an equal split of the two-bedroom median.

These are gross income figures covering rent alone. The 30% share is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) affordability measure, which counts utilities inside it where these do not, so add utilities on top. They are planning benchmarks rather than salary requirements or screening rules, and the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator asks for after-tax income, which will produce a different estimate.

Many renter households spend well past 30%. Apartment List's cost-burden research on 2024 American Community Survey data puts the national rate at 51.8% and Florida's at 62.1%, the latter among the highest of any state.

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

The median tells you the middle of the market, but you rent one specific unit. Work backward from your income:

1. Take your gross annual income.
2. Multiply by 0.30 to get the annual rent your budget supports at the 30% benchmark.
3. Divide by 12 for a monthly rent ceiling.

On a $50,000 gross salary that is about $1,250 a month. Jacksonville's one-bedroom median is $1,112 (Apartment List, August 2026), which leaves about $138 between the median and that ceiling. Electricity at the planning figure above accounts for $77 of it, leaving roughly $61 before water, sewer, and any property fees.

The arithmetic also runs the other way for a specific listing: multiply the monthly rent by 12 and divide by 0.30 to see the income it implies. A $1,300 listing points to about $52,000.

Then check the listing detail page for the charges rent alone hides: application, admin, pet, and parking fees are disclosed per unit. Apartment List does not charge renters a fee of its own, so the numbers you are budgeting for belong to the property.

What Should You Budget Beyond Rent in Jacksonville?

Electricity

JEA is the municipal utility, and it supplies electricity, water and sewer on one bill. At 500 kWh a month a residential electric bill runs about $77, built from a $19.25 basic monthly charge, 7.237 cents a kilowatt-hour, and a fuel charge JEA resets every month.

Florida power is cheap per unit and the bills are large anyway. The state averages 15.10 cents a kilowatt-hour against a national average of 18.34 (EIA, June 2026). The average Florida household still pays about $195 a month against $171 nationally, because cooling means using far more of it. That makes 500 kWh a light month here rather than a typical one.

JEA's rates change on October 1, 2026, and the increase is already approved. Residential electricity rises between 1.6% and 3.1%, which takes the same 500 kWh to about $79. Water and sewer rise between 4.3% and 7.5%.

Ask the property for recent bills from a comparable unit, and ask what the heating and cooling run on.

Water and Sewer

JEA bills water and sewer as well, but whether you ever see those charges depends on your lease. A property may fold them into rent, charge a flat fee, divide them among residents, or leave you to hold a direct JEA account.

On a direct account the base charges are $13.60 for water and $17.03 for sewer, plus $5.17 per thousand gallons of sewer. Those apply only when the account is in your name, which is why this guide leaves water and sewer outside the monthly total.

Ask which of those four arrangements the building uses, and if it is a shared split, ask how it is calculated.

Transit

JTA charges $1.75 for a single ride and $65 for a 31-day pass, so the pass pays for itself at about 38 rides a month. Below that, individual fares cost less.

Check that a route and schedule fit your actual commute before counting on transit. If they do not, plan for a car payment, insurance, fuel, and parking as a fixed monthly cost.

Groceries

For a single adult, the USDA moderate-cost food plan runs about $440 a month. The USDA figure is national and is not specific to Jacksonville, so use it as a starting point and adjust it for how often you eat out.

How Do Solo and Shared Jacksonville Budgets Compare?

Rent values are Apartment List August 2026 city-level estimates. The shared column assumes two renters splitting the median two-bedroom rent and one electricity bill equally. Both columns exclude water and sewer, for the reason given in its own section, and exclude transit, internet, insurance, and parking.

Splitting a two-bedroom equally costs about $458 a month less per renter than paying for a one-bedroom on your own, or roughly $5,496 a year. Almost all of that comes from the rent line, since groceries do not split at all. That $654 share corresponds to about $26,160 in annual gross income at the rent-only 30% benchmark, against $44,480 for the one-bedroom.

Jacksonville's Two-Bedroom Median Runs $196 Above Its One-Bedroom

A two-bedroom runs $196 more than a one-bedroom at the median, or about 17.6% above the one-bedroom figure (Apartment List, August 2026).

That is the price of the larger apartment, not the price per person. Split equally between two renters, it comes to about $654 each, roughly $458 a month less than paying the one-bedroom median on your own.

What Should You Confirm Before Paying an Application Fee?

• Whether water and sewer are included in rent, charged as a flat fee, split among residents, or left to a direct JEA account in your name
• What recent electric bills came to on a comparable unit, and what the heating and cooling run on
• Every unit-level fee: application, admin, pet, and parking, all disclosed on the listing detail page
• Whether parking is included, and what a second space costs
• Lease length and any month-to-month premium
• Whether a JTA route reaches your work at the hour you would travel

Ask the property for its total move-in amount in writing before paying anything. Apartment List does not charge renters a fee, so every fee you are checking for belongs to the property.

How Do You Find Lower Rent in Jacksonville?

The medians above are citywide. Which Jacksonville neighborhoods cost least, how they compare on walkability and commute, and how they score on published safety data are questions the neighborhood guides answer in full:

• Cheapest neighborhoods in Jacksonville
• Best neighborhoods in Jacksonville
• Safest neighborhoods in Jacksonville

Looking past the city line will not help. The metro comparison above puts rent outside Jacksonville above the city figure, so the cheaper ground is inside it. Neighborhood choice is the lever that works here.

To bring rent down without changing neighborhoods, the Apartment List Rent Calculator sizes an affordable range from your income, and Rate My Rent grades a specific listing against comparable local apartments. That grade is a starting point for questions to ask the building, not a verdict on the unit.

Compare Jacksonville With Your Current City

If you are moving to Jacksonville from somewhere else, compare total cost rather than rent alone. The Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator compares two cities using after-tax income and includes data from the Council for Community and Economic Research.

Jacksonville's median runs below its metro at every unit size, though at one bedroom the gap is only $5 (Apartment List, August 2026). Because that metro figure includes the city, the ground beyond the city line still prices above it, so search inward rather than outward.

Browse Jacksonville apartments and start comparing real listings.

Appendix: Methodology and Data Sources

Income figures are calculations based on the cited Apartment List rent medians and the 30% rent-to-income benchmark, not measured income data.

Frequently Asked Questions About Jacksonville Rent & Cost of Living

What Is the Average Rent in Jacksonville?

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, the median all-sizes rent in Jacksonville is $1,322 as of August 2026, with one-bedrooms at $1,112 and two-bedrooms at $1,308. Apartment List reports a median rather than an average, because a median better represents a typical apartment and is less distorted by a handful of luxury units.

Is Jacksonville Rent Going Up or Down?

Up very slightly, which makes it unusual. According to the Apartment List Rent Index, Jacksonville rent rose 0.49% over the twelve months to August 2026 while the national median fell 0.76%. Month over month it rose 0.24%. Both moves are small enough to read as steady rather than rising.

Is Rent Cheaper Inside Jacksonville City Limits Than in the Metro?

Yes, at every unit size. According to the Apartment List Rent Index, the city median of $1,322 is 3.0% below the $1,363 metro median as of August 2026. At one bedroom the gap narrows to $5, and at two bedrooms it is 1.8%. Because the metro figure includes Jacksonville itself, the areas beyond the city line sit above that metro number, so searching outward moves toward higher rent rather than lower.

How Does Jacksonville Rent Compare With Other Florida Cities?

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, Jacksonville's all-sizes median of $1,322 as of August 2026 sits $22 above Tallahassee, $104 below St. Petersburg, $201 below Tampa, $207 below Orlando, and $605 below Miami. It is also $68 under the national median of $1,390.

How Much More Does a Two-Bedroom Cost Than a One-Bedroom in Jacksonville?

About $196 a month. The median one-bedroom is $1,112 and the median two-bedroom is $1,308 as of August 2026, according to the Apartment List Rent Index. That is the cost of the larger apartment, not the cost per person: two renters splitting that two-bedroom equally would pay about $654 each.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in Jacksonville?

Using Apartment List's August 2026 median one-bedroom rent of $1,112, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $44,480 in annual gross income ($1,112 x 12 / 0.30). This is a planning benchmark, not a requirement, and it uses gross income, while the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator uses after-tax income and will give a different number.

How Much Is Electricity in a Jacksonville Apartment?

At 500 kWh a month, a JEA residential bill runs about $77 before taxes, from a $19.25 basic monthly charge plus 7.237 cents a kilowatt-hour and a monthly fuel charge. Florida averages 15.10 cents per kWh against a national 18.34, yet the average Florida household pays about $195 a month against $171 nationally, because typical usage here is 1,293 kWh against 930. That makes 500 kWh a light month. JEA's rates rise between 1.6% and 3.1% on October 1, 2026, taking the same 500 kWh to about $79.

How Do Solo and Shared Jacksonville Budgets Compare?

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, at the August 2026 medians a two-bedroom costs about $654 per renter if two people split it equally, against $1,112 for a one-bedroom on your own. That is a difference of about $458 a month, or $5,496 a year, before utilities and fees. That $654 share corresponds to about $26,160 in annual gross income at the rent-only 30% benchmark.

Is 30% of Income a Hard Limit for Rent?

No. It is a widely used benchmark, and HUD treats housing costs above 30% of income, including utilities, as cost-burdened. According to Apartment List research, about 51.8% of U.S. renter households are cost-burdened nationally and 62.1% in Florida, based on 2024 ACS data.