Tampa Bay has the lowest cost of living of Florida metros

Tampa Bay boasts the lowest cost of living of both Florida metros and major national metro areas, according to the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp.'s recently-released cost of living index. Tampa Bay, the index said, scored 90.9 points for the year’s second quarter, lower than the national average of 100. That’s up slightly from the same quarter in 2018, when Tampa had 88.3 points.

“While our cost of living slightly increased this quarter, Tampa still remains an attractive and affordable place to live, especially for people migrating from a more expensive metro area,” said Robin DiSalvo, marketing research analyst for the Tampa Hillsborough EDC.

The index ranked metros based on the cost of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, healthcare and miscellaneous goods and services.

Tampa Bay’s cost of living was indexed lower than fellow Sunshine State metros Orlando (92.3 points) and Jacksonville (91 points). Denver had the highest cost of living with 110.8 points.