Cost of Living in Jacksonville, FL (2026): What Renters Should Budget

Updated November 2026. Rent figures reflect October 2026 estimates from Apartment List's November report.

Jacksonville rents below the national median and below most large Florida cities: according to the Apartment List November 2026 Rent Index, the median rent across all apartment sizes is $1,318, about 5% below the U.S. median. Jacksonville rents are slightly higher than a year ago, despite declining in October.

The budget lines that vary most from one Jacksonville lease to the next are how water and sewer reach you, summer electricity, and whether your commute works on JTA. The table below carries the bedroom medians, utility estimates, and transit fares, and the sections after it show which of those lines you can confirm before you sign.

Jacksonville Cost of Living at a Glance

Source for rent rows: Apartment List's November 2026 release; October 2026 rent 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.

What Is the Median Rent in Jacksonville in 2026?

The Apartment List November 2026 Rent Index shows Jacksonville medians of $1,108 for a one-bedroom, $1,304 for a two-bedroom, and $1,318 across all apartment sizes. Apartment List reports the median, the market midpoint, rather than an average; its methodology describes it as the rent an apartment searcher could expect across the full rental market.

Rents are slightly higher than a year ago and softened in the latest month: the median rose 0.76% over the 12 months through October 2026 but slipped 0.27% in October, while the national median was essentially flat. For a renter that makes these medians a fair benchmark for a listing you see this month, and concessions are worth asking about: 47.2% of Jacksonville properties offered a concession worth at least one month of free rent in October 2026 (Apartment List concession rate).

How Does Jacksonville Rent Compare With Other Florida Cities?

Among the six Florida cities compared here, only Tallahassee rents for less than Jacksonville, and the gap is $30.

Source: Apartment List's November 2026 release; October 2026 rent estimates. City-level medians, not total-cost comparisons.

The useful contrast is with Tampa and Orlando, which run about $200 a month more on the all-sizes median and keep that order on one-bedrooms. These are rent medians only, so compare the same unit size and price the commute before treating a lower-rent city as savings.

Within the region, Jacksonville's median is $43 below the Jacksonville metro's $1,361 on all sizes and $8 below on one-bedrooms. The metro figure includes Jacksonville itself alongside St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, and Baker counties, so it does not price any one suburb.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in Jacksonville?

Using the $1,108 median one-bedroom rent from Apartment List's November 2026 report, a rent-only budget of 30% of gross income needs about $44,320 a year.

Source: Apartment List's November 2026 release; October 2026 rent estimates. The shared row is half of the two-bedroom median. The calculation is in the appendix.

The 30% figure is a housing allowance for rent and utilities together, the share the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers affordable, so the table is a starting point rather than a full housing budget. To use it: take 30% of your gross monthly income, set aside the utilities and required housing charges you will pay separately, and what remains is the base rent you can carry. Then test the whole monthly budget against take-home pay, debt, and savings goals. This calculation is a budgeting benchmark; each property sets its own income and screening requirements.

Apartment List research found that 51.8% of U.S. renter households spent more than 30% of income on housing costs including utilities in 2024, and 62.1% of Florida's did. Our guide to the 30% rule and how much to spend on rent walks through when to flex it.

Florida has no state personal income tax on wages (Florida Department of Revenue), so the incomes above are not reduced by a state wage tax; federal income and payroll taxes still apply.

How Do You Know if You Can Afford a Jacksonville Apartment?

A $50,000 salary gives a $1,250 monthly housing allowance. After about $85 for electricity, the base-rent ceiling is about $1,165: $57 above the one-bedroom median and $139 below the two-bedroom median. That $57 is room for housing costs this example has not priced, such as a water bill or parking, not spare money. The Rent Calculator sets a starting budget from your income, location, and bedroom needs.

What Should You Budget Beyond Rent in Jacksonville?

Price the costs that apply to you, then confirm which charges the building bills separately.

How Much Does Electricity Cost in Jacksonville?

Budget about $85 a month if you hold your own JEA electric account, the normal arrangement in an individually metered apartment. That is a 500 kWh usage scenario under JEA's residential rates effective October 1, 2026, before taxes, not an average apartment bill. Your bill differs with summer cooling, the size and insulation of the unit, whether heat and hot water are electric, and JEA's fuel charge, which it adjusts periodically. Ask the property for a recent August bill from a comparable unit.

How Much Are Water and Sewer Bills in Jacksonville?

Budget about $53 a month for water and sewer only if the JEA account is in your name; many Jacksonville leases instead fold water into rent, charge a flat fee, or divide one building bill among apartments. That example assumes about 3,000 gallons of monthly use under JEA's rates effective October 1, 2026, before taxes. Confirm which arrangement the building uses and, for a split, how it is calculated, before adding this amount to your budget.

How Much Is Public Transit in Jacksonville?

A regular rider on JTA pays $1.75 a ride or $65 for a 31-day pass, which pays for itself at about 38 rides a month; riders with disabilities and Medicare cardholders pay $1.00 a ride or $35 for the pass, and seniors 65 and older ride fixed-route buses free with a Florida ID. JTA lists a fixed-route fare change taking effect January 1, 2027, so check its fares page for the new price; current fares apply until then. Check that a route and schedule fit your commute before you count on transit, and plan for car costs if they do not.

How Much Should You Budget for Groceries in Jacksonville?

About $441 a month for one adult under the national USDA Moderate-Cost plan, September 2026 report. That is a food-at-home planning benchmark, not a Jacksonville price, so adjust it for your household and how often you eat out.

How Do Solo and Shared Jacksonville Budgets Compare?

Source: Apartment List's November 2026 release; October 2026 rent estimates. This illustrative partial budget covers rent, electricity at 500 kWh, and groceries per person. The shared column splits one two-bedroom and one electric bill equally between two renters, an assumption because a two-bedroom's usage may differ from a one-bedroom's. Groceries do not split.

Splitting a two-bedroom equally costs $456 a month less per renter in rent than a one-bedroom on your own, about $5,500 a year, and about $499 less once the shared electric bill is included. The two-bedroom median is $196 above the one-bedroom median, but each median is the midpoint of a different pool of apartments, so the step is not the price of adding a bedroom in one building.

Monthly Costs Outside This Example

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 household income.

What Should You Check Before Applying for a Jacksonville Apartment?

An application fee is an up-front charge for screening your application, separate from a security deposit and any one-time move-in fee. Before you pay one, run three checks:

1. Base rent and charges: compare the listing's rent with your base-rent ceiling, then add its monthly charges (parking, pet, and any water or sewer the property bills) to the full budget you test against take-home pay.

2. Move-in total: get the amount due at signing in writing, including the security deposit, the application fee, and any administrative or one-time move-in fees.

3. Open questions: confirm whether water and sewer come through rent, a property charge, or a JEA account in your name, and ask what recent electric bills came to on a comparable unit.

Apartment List is free for renters to use. Confirm any application, administrative, or move-in fees directly with the property.

How Do You Find Lower Rent in Jacksonville?

Rent varies by neighborhood. The Jacksonville neighborhood guides cover price, fit, and published safety data:

• Cheapest neighborhoods in Jacksonville

• Best Jacksonville neighborhoods

• Safest Jacksonville neighborhoods

Rate My Rent evaluates a specific apartment's price against comparable local listings.

What Should a Jacksonville Renter Confirm Before Settling on a Rent?

How water and sewer reach you, because the same apartment can carry a direct JEA bill, a property charge, or nothing extra; what a summer electric bill looks like in that building; and whether your commute works on JTA or needs a car. Those three lines move a Jacksonville budget more from one lease to the next than the citywide medians do between months.

If the building bills water and sewer separately, treat that amount as part of your housing allowance before you set a base rent. When a listing's rent and charges fit your ceiling, browse Jacksonville apartments and run the same check on real listings.

Appendix: Methodology and Data Sources

Apartment List rent figures throughout this guide come from the Apartment List Rent Estimates, November 2026 release, with data as of October 2026.

Rent. November 2026 release, October 2026 estimates. Jacksonville figures are citywide medians; metro figures cover Jacksonville, FL, and the two are labeled separately wherever both appear. The concession rate is the share of properties offering a concession worth at least one month free and is not reflected in the medians.

Calculations. Annual income = monthly rent × 12 ÷ 0.30, rounded to the nearest $10. Shared rent assumes two equal shares of the two-bedroom median ($652 each). Modeled utility splits are illustrative, and groceries are per person and do not split.

Budget assumptions. The illustrative partial budget covers rent, electricity, and groceries. Electricity is JEA's residential rate at 500 kWh before taxes: the $21.00 basic monthly charge plus 12.79 cents per kWh for energy and fuel combined, effective October 1, 2026. Water and sewer are excluded from the budget; the direct-account example is JEA's $13.77 water and $17.03 sewer base charges on a standard meter plus $1.50 per 1,000 gallons of water and $5.82 per 1,000 gallons of sewer at 3,000 gallons, before taxes. Transportation, internet, phone, insurance, parking, and move-in costs are excluded. Groceries use the September 2026 USDA Moderate-Cost plan for one adult, averaging the adult female and male figures and applying the 20% single-person adjustment.

Frequently Asked Questions About Jacksonville Rent and Cost of Living

What Is the Average Rent in Jacksonville?

Apartment List reports median rent, not a simple average, because the median is less swayed by a handful of very expensive listings. The one-bedroom median is $1,108 and the two-bedroom median is $1,304, for an all-sizes median of $1,318 as of October 2026.

Is Jacksonville Rent Going Up or Down?

Slightly up on the year, down in the latest month. According to the Apartment List November 2026 Rent Index, Jacksonville rent rose 0.76% over the 12 months through October 2026 and slipped 0.27% in October alone, while the national median was essentially flat. Rents had fallen year over year in every month from April 2023 through July 2026 before the annual comparison turned positive in August.

Is Jacksonville Affordable for Renters?

It depends on your income and the size you need. Under a rent-only 30% benchmark, a $1,108 one-bedroom lines up with about $44,320 in annual gross income, and electricity and groceries add about $526 a month for one adult before water, transportation, and fees. Jacksonville's all-sizes median of $1,318 is $66 below the national median of $1,384 as of October 2026 and the second-lowest of the six Florida cities compared in this guide.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in Jacksonville?

Using the $1,108 median one-bedroom rent from Apartment List's November 2026 report, a rent-only budget of 30% of gross income needs about $44,320 a year, and the $1,304 two-bedroom about $52,160. These are budgeting estimates; each property sets its own income and screening requirements.

How Much Are Utilities in Jacksonville?

Electricity at 500 kWh is about $85 a month under JEA rates effective October 1, 2026, before taxes, a usage scenario that a summer month with heavy cooling can exceed. Water and sewer can reach you through a direct JEA account (about $53 at 3,000 gallons), a flat fee or split charged by the property, or inside rent, so confirm which arrangement the lease uses.

Is 30% of Income a Hard Limit for Rent?

No. It is a planning benchmark, and HUD treats housing costs above 30% of income, including utilities, as cost-burdened; Apartment List research found that 51.8% of U.S. renter households, and 62.1% of Florida's, spent more than that in 2024.

How Do Solo and Shared Jacksonville Budgets Compare?

At the October 2026 medians, a two-bedroom costs $652 per renter if two people split the rent equally, against $1,108 for a one-bedroom on your own, a difference of $456 a month before utilities and fees (Apartment List, November 2026 report). With electricity and groceries added, the illustrative partial budget is about $1,634 for a solo renter and about $1,136 per roommate.