What is the cost of living in Tallahassee?

Tallahassee has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 93.9, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 78.5, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,352/month.

What is the median salary in Tallahassee?

The median salary in Tallahassee is $59,701 annually (mean: $64,136). Top occupations include Management Analysts, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Tallahassee?

The violent crime rate in the Tallahassee area is 210 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1030 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Tallahassee?

The state of FL has 4,029 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.8:1. Charter schools make up 17.9% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Tallahassee?

Infant center-based childcare in the Tallahassee area averages $10,505 per year. Preschool averages $7,983/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Tallahassee a good place to relocate?

Tallahassee has a Life Score of 50.6/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Tallahassee sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Tallahassee ranks #284 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Tallahassee, FL

LiveAbility 44.8/100 places Tallahassee #284 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

93.9
Cost index (US=100): $1,352
2BR rent / mo: $59,701
Median salary: 44.8
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Tallahassee ranks #284 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (44.8/100), with its strongest marks in safety and climate.

#284
of 387 US metros · Near median: 23,372,215
metro-area population: 210
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 4,029
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: schools (13/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Tallahassee ranks #284 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 93.9 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,352/mo, median salary $59,701; LiveAbility Score 44.8/100, strongest in safety and climate.

Signature: LiveAbility 44.8/100 places Tallahassee #284 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 93.9 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,352/mo.

LiveAbility 44.8/100 puts Tallahassee in the bottom third (#284 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Tallahassee area is 174,000.

Tallahassee vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

45 Top 73% higher than 27% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Tallahassee housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Tallahassee MSA; housing RPP 78.5 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,352/mo.

Studio

$1,097

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,204

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,352

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,674

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,790

/month

Tallahassee wages and employment

Tallahassee posts 174,000 total employment with median salary $59,701.

Median Salary

$59,701

Mean Salary

$64,136

Total Employment

174,000

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Management Analysts	$58,860
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$27,600
Retail Salespersons	$30,330
General and Operations Managers	$95,250
Office Clerks, General	$38,360

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Tallahassee area from NCES.

Schools

4,029

Enrollment

2,838,009

Student:Teacher

17.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Tallahassee area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$10,505

per year

Toddler (Center)

$8,611

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,983

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Tallahassee's composite Life Score is 50.6/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

47/100

Average

Wages

21/100

Weak

Rent

44/100

Below average

Crime

83/100

Elite

Schools

87/100

Elite

Childcare

46/100

Average

Environment

46/100

Average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Tallahassee ranks #284 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 44.8/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (83/100)

Safety

83
Climate

82
Low hazard

54
Cost of living

47
Housing

44
Air quality

30
Job market

21
Schools

13

What this shows Tallahassee's strongest dimensions are safety and climate; its weakest among scored dims is schools at 13/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Tallahassee to

Reno Richmond Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Roanoke Rochester Rochester

Metros near Tallahassee on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Tallahassee on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Tallahassee cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Tallahassee wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Tallahassee?

Tallahassee runs a $59,701 median salary at a 93.9 cost index, ranking #284 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Tallahassee's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Tallahassee head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Tallahassee
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.