What is a Good Salary in Florida in 2024? Breakdown by City & Salary Levels

Florida offers a great value for your money. But, what is a good salary in Florida in 2024? We think a good salary is about $80k-$90k, but it depends on your city.

In this article, we will breakdown exactly how much money you will get after taxes and how far that would get you in each major city in Florida.

A lot has changed over the last few years, so you will need more money to live a comfortable lifestyle in Florida. But, it is still possible to secure a good paying job and still have some money left over for luxuries, travels, or savings.

We looked at the latest cost of living figures for each major city in Florida and determined how much money you actually need per month if you want to live a good life.

We will also answer specific questions like, “is 50k a good salary in Florida” and “is 60k a good salary in Florida” so that you know if your job offer is good enough to live well in the Sunshine State.

Let’s take a deeper look into our analysis of what is considered a good salary in Florida in 2024.

What is a Good Salary in Florida? Background Data

Florida is a great place to live because it actually offers a decent housing market that is not wildly overpriced while other living costs are pretty low.

In fact, the average cost of living in Florida is just 3% higher than the US average. That’s not bad considering you get to enjoy warm weather all year round and have access to some of the best beaches on the planet in Florida.

Similarly, home prices in Florida average around $300,000 to $350,000 according to the latest figures from Zillow in 2022.

While that is not super cheap, it is certainly more affordable than places like the West Coast.

Meanwhile, the average salary in Florida in 2024 is now up to around $65,000.

But, you asked what is a good salary in Florida and not just what the average salary is. A good salary should allow you to live a bit more extravagantly and not have to think as much about budgeting.

So, let’s see the details about what is considered a good salary in Florida.

What is a Good Salary in Florida?

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To begin, we first have to define what it means to have a “good” salary in Florida.
Our definition of a “good” salary is one that allows you to easily cover your necessities like your rent or mortgage and groceries each month, while allowing you to also have luxuries like eating out at least once or twice each week.

A good salary should also be able to cover your car payments and utility bills without having to think much about them.

Finally, it should also leave you with a bit extra at the end of the month that you can use for traveling or that you can stash in your savings account.

When you add up all of these factors, we think that, on average, a good salary in Florida is $80,000.

If you factor in taxes, that comes out to about $61,000 net, or about $5,100 per month.

You can use this paycheck calculator for Florida to find out exactly how much money you would get after taxes.

Let’s take a closer look at how this amount of money can cover all your expenses:

$80k Salary in Florida

Category DetailsCost per Month
Housing 2 Bedroom Rental$1,600
Food Groceries & Restaurants$800
Car Payment 2024 Ford Explorer Lease$400
Utilities Water, Gas, Internet, Phone$400
Healthcare Various Health-Related Costs$300
Entertainment Vacation, Sporting Events, Movies$600
Total Cost per Month  $4,100
Salary per Month  $5,100
Total Savings per Month  $1,000

In this example, an $80,000 salary would yield $5,100 per month. It would allow you to afford everything shown above and even let you save $1,000 each month.

Of course, it will all depend on which city in Florida you live in and what kind of family situation you have, but we think that it is a fair depiction of what is a good salary in Florida in 2024.

Let’s now take a look at what the salary level should be in some of Florida’s major cities.

What is a Good Salary in Miami?

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Since the cost of living in Miami is about 20% higher than the rest of Florida, we believe that a good salary here should be about $95,000.

That comes out to roughly $6,000 per month. Let’s see what it would cover:

$95k Salary in Miami

CategoryDetailsCost per Month
Housing2 Bedroom Rental$2,000
FoodGroceries & Restaurants$1,200
Car Payment2024 Ford Explorer Lease$400
UtilitiesWater, Gas, Internet, Phone$400
HealthcareVarious Health-Related Costs$300
EntertainmentVacation, Sporting Events, Movies$700
Total Cost per Month $5,000
Salary per Month $6,000
Total Savings per Month $1,000

While some costs are higher in Miami like housing and restaurants, other costs are generally fixed all across Florida like the price of a car lease and healthcare costs.

Therefore, a $95,000 in Miami allows you to live a comfortable life and still also save $1,000 a month.

What is a Good Salary in Orlando?

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The cost of living in Orlando is pretty much the same as the Florida state average, so we think that a salary of $80,000 should be sufficient to live a good life in Orlando.

$80k Salary in Orlando

CategoryDetailsCost per Month
Housing2 Bedroom Rental$1,600
FoodGroceries & Restaurants$800
Car Payment2024 Ford Explorer Lease$400
UtilitiesWater, Gas, Internet, Phone$400
HealthcareVarious Health-Related Costs$300
EntertainmentVacation, Sporting Events, Movies$600
Total Cost per Month $4,100
Salary per Month $5,100
Total Savings per Month $1,000

What is a Good Salary in Tampa?

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Tampa is actually about 3% cheaper to live in than the rest of Florida, but home prices have been steadily rising in 2024, so we think that you would need a salary of $80,000 per year to live well in Tampa.

$80k Salary in Tampa

CategoryDetailsCost per Month
Housing2 Bedroom Rental$1,600
FoodGroceries & Restaurants$800
Car Payment2024 Ford Explorer Lease$400
UtilitiesWater, Gas, Internet, Phone$400
HealthcareVarious Health-Related Costs$300
EntertainmentVacation, Sporting Events, Movies$600
Total Cost per Month $4,100
Salary per Month $5,100
Total Savings per Month $1,000

What is a Good Salary in Jacksonville?

what-is-a-good-salary-in-florida

Jacksonville has a cost of living that is about 10% lower than the rest of Florida. Therefore, we think that you should aim for a salary of about $70,000 to live comfortably in Jacksonville. That comes out to about $4,500 per month after taxes.

$70k Salary in Jacksonville

CategoryDetailsCost per Month
Housing2 Bedroom Rental$1,200
FoodGroceries & Restaurants$800
Car Payment2024 Ford Explorer Lease$400
UtilitiesWater, Gas, Internet, Phone$400
HealthcareVarious Health-Related Costs$300
EntertainmentVacation, Sporting Events, Movies$500
Total Cost per Month $3,500
Salary per Month $4,500
Total Savings per Month $1,000

What is a Good Salary in Florida? Summary

Ultimately, we think that a good salary in Florida should range from $70k to $95k depending on the city that you choose and your family situation.

Singles who want to live alone should be able to spend a bit less on rent, while larger families may need to budget a bit more than what we have stated.

Of course, you can certainly get by with less as millions of residents in Florida have been doing.

If you are able to even ask this question, consider yourself lucky and be prudent with how you spend your hard-earned money, since it may not last forever.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 50k a Good Salary in Florida?

A salary of $50,000 is a decent wage to live in Florida if you are a single person or if you are a couple without kids. It will also depend on where you live.

But, it comes out to about $3,300 after taxes, which is only enough to cover your basics in large (and more expensive cities) like Miami and Orlando.

You would need to target lower cost cities like Daytona Beach or Ocala or a more affordable suburb of one of the big cities if you want to save some money or indulge in some luxuries with a salary of $50k.

Check out this list of the most affordable places to live in Florida in 2024.

Is 60k a Good Salary in Florida?

Yes, a $60,000 salary is pretty good in most parts of Florida. Again, it will probably not be enough for you to live lavishly in the big cities or be enough to support a large family, but $60k should be enough to cover your housing and food with a bit left over for entertainment or savings.

What is a Good Salary for a Single Person in Florida?

A single person can save a bit on their housing costs and cut out some of the food costs from our original estimate. That could come out to about an extra $600 to $800 per month of savings.

Therefore, the salary that a single person in Florida would want to aim for is about $65k to $70k to be able to live a more generous lifestyle.