Jacksonville neighborhoods rank among Florida's cheapest. Here's where

Yahoo

06-08-2025

A massive influx of new residents made Florida one of the most popular U.S. states to move to from 2021 through 2023. In 2022, it became the country's fastest-growing state for the first time since 1957, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The pandemic-fueled mass migration to Florida has slowed dramatically since 2024, though. According to a May 2025 report on nationwide moving trends from moving and storage company PODS, massive waves of people are still moving to the Southeast — but most are opting for Appalachian states, like the Carolinas and Tennessee.
Why? Mostly financial reasons.
According to the PODS report, more people are choosing to leave Florida due to 'worsening severe weather impacts,' population boom creating congestion throughout the state, the rise in the cost of living, high inflation and high home insurance premiums.
The cost of living in Florida varies significantly depending on your location within the state. Fortunately for Jacksonville, there are still a few hidden gems that are considered some of the most affordable places to live in all of Florida.
Based on a June study from personal finance platform GOBankingRates, Jacksonville is home to three towns featured on Niche's list of the top ten most affordable towns to live in Florida.
Here's how much the study says Floridians have to make to be considered middle-class, the cheapest place to live in Florida, and the average cost of living in the state.
How much do you have to make in Florida to be middle-class?
To find the income range for middle-class families in each state, GOBankingRates used the U.S. Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey 5-year data to determine how much a two-, three- and four-person middle-class family earns on average in each state and used the Pew Research Center's definition of middle-class to calculate the income ranges.
The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as a household that makes two-thirds (66.66%) to double (200%) the median income. Florida's middle-class income range, although the state has a higher cost of living than most states, is pretty average compared to most other states.
States like Massachusetts, Delaware, Connecticut, California, and many others have higher requirements for what's considered middle-class income, topping out between $250,000 and $300,000 in the highest end of the bracket for a family of four.
Here's how much families in Florida have to make to be considered middle-class, according to a GOBankingRates' study:
Two-person family middle-class income range: $51,690 to $155,070
Three-person family middle-class income range: $58,572 to $175,716
Four-person family middle-class income range: $68,709 to $206,126
Where's the cheapest place to live in Florida? Florida town makes top 5 most affordable in U.S. list
Although Florida is an expensive state to live in overall, especially in the most heavily populated cities, the state is littered with small towns that are more affordable than the big cities they're near. One small town even ranked as one of the top five most affordable places to live in the U.S. on a recent rankings list from Niche.
Niche is an online platform that helps students and families find and compare K-12 schools, colleges, and neighborhoods. The platform used data from the U.S. Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to rank the cost of living by city, based on the Consumer Price Index and access to affordable housing (housing-to-income ratios).
Chattahoochee, Florida, a small town near the Sunshine State's border with Georgia, made it into the top three and was the only place in the state to rank in Niche's top 40 most affordable places to live in the U.S.
The small town ranked as the third-most affordable place to live in the U.S. on Niche's list. Chattahoochee has a population of just under 3,000, according to Census Reporter, and is situated right on the Georgia border in Gadsden County, Florida. Chattahoochee is just under an hour's drive from Tallahassee.
Here's Niche's list of the top 5 most affordable places to live in the U.S.:
Heidelberg, a suburb of McAllen, Texas
Pearl River, a town in Mississippi
Chattahoochee, a town near Tallahassee, Florida
Muniz, a suburb of McAllen, Texas
Banner Hill, a town in Tennessee
Most affordable places to live: You may have never heard of this Florida town, but this list ranks it among most affordable
Where are the most affordable neighborhoods in Jacksonville?
All these Jacksonville neighborhoods ranked among the top 10 most affordable places to live in Florida. Located on the city's Westside, College Gardens came in at number 8, followed by New Town at number 9 and Mixon Town at number 10.
What city in Florida has the lowest cost of living?
Niche also ranked the most affordable places to live in each state.
Here's Niche's list of the top 10 most affordable places to live in Florida:
Chattahoochee, a town near Tallahassee
Lacoochee, a suburb of Tampa
Moon Lake, a suburb of Tampa
Cross City, a town in the Big Bend, near Steinhatchee
Wahneta, a census-designated place (CDP) near Lakeland
Fussels Corner, a CDP near Lakeland
Interlachen, a town between Gainesville and Palatka
College Gardens, a neighborhood on the west side of Jacksonville
New Town, a neighborhood on the west side of Jacksonville
Mixon Town, a neighborhood on the west side of Jacksonville
What's the average cost of living in Florida?
According to 2023 Census Bureau data, the median annual income in Florida is approximately $73,000.
The cost of living in Florida varies greatly depending on where you live. Heavily populated areas like the Miami metropolitan area, Tampa or the Orlando area are all inherently more expensive than the small towns on Niche's list.
For example, according to Zillow's housing market estimates, the average cost to buy a home in Chattahoochee is around $116,000, while the average cost to buy a home in nearby Tallahassee is around $294,000.
According to personal finance company SoFi, the average total personal consumption cost in Florida is $50,689 per year.
Here's how SoFi broke that cost down:
Housing and utilities: $9,656
Health care: $7,676
Food and beverages (non-restaurant): $3,886
Gas and energy goods: $909
All other personal expenditures: $28,562
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 3 of Florida's most affordable neighborhoods are in Jacksonville
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