Calgary vs Orlando: which should you move to?
Calgary or Orlando? Housing, rent, crime, climate, income, taxes and transit, side by side, from each city's own published figures. Written for someone deciding where to live, not for a ranking.
.jpg){kind=link}
This comes down to two hazard bills and two tax bills. Orlando's typical home is $375,175 USD with a $1,931 mortgage payment, but property tax and insurance pile roughly $814 a month on top of that, about 42 percent again. Calgary's benchmark is $569,200 CAD at $2,480, with tax and insurance adding about $525, near 21 percent. Alberta charges no land transfer tax and 5 percent sales tax; Florida charges no income tax at all, which is worth more to a high earner. Orlando wins on work, 4.6 percent unemployment against 6.8. Calgary wins on health cover and on a 16.9 C July.
Calgary prices are in CAD and Orlando prices are in USD. The tables leave them in their own currency and compare ratios and rates instead; a conversion would be stale by the time you read it.
| Measure | Calgary | Orlando | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| City population | 1,306,784 (2021) | 333,888 (2025) | Not directly comparable |
| Metro population | 1,836,012 (2025) | 2,957,672 (2025) | Not directly comparable |
| Five-year growth Growth is pressure on rents and roads as much as it is opportunity, so it is reported without a winner. | 5.5% (2016-2021) | 8.3% (2020-2025) | Not directly comparable |
What a home costs in each
The figures the two cities' rent-versus-buy and mortgage calculators run on, read from the same tables.
| Measure | Calgary | Orlando | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark home price MLS® HPI or equivalent benchmark. Lower is treated as the advantage, which is the buyer's view rather than the owner's. | $569,200 (July 2026) | $375,175 (June 2026) | Not directly comparable |
| Detached house benchmark Orlando publishes a single house index rather than a composite, so the two rows repeat. | $743,900 | $375,175 | Not directly comparable |
| Apartment or condominium benchmark | $297,600 | Not published | Not directly comparable |
| Two-bedroom rent | $1,908/mo (average, October 2025) | $1,904/mo (median, June 2026) | Not directly comparable |
| One-bedroom rent | $1,581/mo | $1,637/mo | Not directly comparable |
| Two-bedroom rent against median income A year of two-bedroom rent as a share of the median household income below. A household paying the median rent out of the median income is a fiction, but it is the same fiction in both columns and it crosses currencies. | 23.4% of a year's income | 29.4% of a year's income | Calgary |
| Mortgage payment on the benchmark, 20% down 25 years in Calgary against 30 in Orlando, each compounding the way its own country's lenders do. The rates are not a spread you can shop: they are what each market charges. | $2,480/mo at 4.34% | $1,931/mo at 6.67% | Not directly comparable |
| Price to household income Benchmark price divided by the median household income below. A ratio is comparable across currencies; the dollars are not. | 5.8× | 4.8× | Orlando |
| Property tax on the benchmark home The effective rate on market value, which is what the two rates have in common and what the Advantage column is decided on; the bills are in each city's own dollars. | $3,785/yr (0.665%, 2026) | $6,043/yr (1.611%, 2025) | Calgary |
| Transfer tax on the benchmark home Compared as a share of the price. Where the seller pays it, it is a cost of leaving rather than arriving. | None | $2,626 (seller pays) | Calgary |
| Rent control A cap protects a sitting tenant and does nothing for the next lease, so neither column is simply better. | No cap on the amount | Forbidden by state law | Not directly comparable |
Calgary: The 2026 municipal rate of 0.38906% plus the provincial education rate of 0.27593%, applied to the assessed value. Orlando: About 1.61% of what you pay for the house, which is lower than the 18.0878 mills Orlando is taxed at, and the difference is the homestead exemption rather than any assessment lag. Florida assesses at full market value and a purchase resets the assessment to the price, so there is no gap to correct for. What there is instead is an exemption: $25,000 of taxable value comes off for every taxing authority and a second slice comes off for all of them except the Orange County school district, which levies 6.4490 of the 18.0878. That second slice was $25,000 through the 2024 tax roll and has been adjusted for inflation every 1 January since, under the 2024 amendment to Article VII section 6 of the state constitution, so it is now somewhat more than $25,000. The figures here use the base amount, because the Department of Revenue sends the adjusted figure to the county property appraisers rather than publishing it. The difference is worth a few dollars a year on a bill, and the county property appraiser can tell you the amount in force. So a homesteaded buyer's first-year bill is the school millage on the price less $25,000 plus everything else on the price less $50,000, about $6,043 a year on the $375,175 typical home value here. The exemption is not automatic: you file for it with the county property appraiser by 1 March of the year after you buy, and until you do the rate is the full 1.81%. The seller's tax bill is not a guide to yours. Save Our Homes caps a homesteaded property's assessed value at 3% growth a year, and that cap resets to full market value the January after the sale, so a long-tenured owner can be taxed on a fraction of what you will be taxed on for the same house. Ask the property appraiser what the assessment would be at your purchase price, not what the current bill is.
How safe each city is, by the numbers it publishes
Police-reported figures for the most recent year each force or statistics agency has released. Rates describe a whole city or metro area, and the spread between neighbourhoods inside one city is usually wider than the gap between the two cities.
| Measure | Calgary | Orlando | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crime Severity Index Statistics Canada's weighted index for the metropolitan area, where 100 is Canada in 2006. American cities have no equivalent series. | 61.7 (2025) | Not published | Not directly comparable |
| Violent crime per 100,000 Canada counts every violent Criminal Code incident; the FBI counts four offences. The Canadian figure is always the larger one for that reason alone. | 1,086 (2025) | 836 (2022) | Not directly comparable |
| Property crime per 100,000 | 3,328 (2025) | 4,036 (2022) | Not directly comparable |
| Homicides Counts, not rates, and a single year in a small city moves a long way on chance alone. What each figure covers is under the table. | 15 (2025) | 10 (2025) | Not directly comparable |
The CMA Crime Severity Index fell again in 2025 (61.7, down 3%) and sits well below the national 75.0, and homicides hit a ten-year low of 15. Police-counted violent crime still rose 4% over 2024 and 16% over the five-year average, driven by assaults, and property crime rose in 2025 on theft and fraud while staying below 2019 levels.
What the rates cover: Calgary Police Service 2025 crime report, city of Calgary, violent crime victims per 100,000 (16,973 victims; 1,082 in 2024). CPS counts violence by victims, not incidents.
Homicides: Calgary Police Service, city of Calgary, 2025; rate 1.0 per 100,000. Prior years: 21 (2024), 24 (2023), 27 (2022), 21 (2021), 34 (2020). Lowest count in ten years; fatal shootings fell to 2 from 7.
Orlando PD reports overall crime down 18% in 2024 and another 19% in 2025, violent crime down 10% in 2024 and 9% in 2025, and shootings with victims down 41% from 2023 to 2025. Homicides fell from 31 in 2023 to 10 in 2025. The FBI's public feed has no usable Orlando data after 2022, so these are the department's own figures.
What the rates cover: FBI Crime Data Explorer, Orlando Police Department (ORI FL0480400), 2022: 2,597 violent offenses, 835.8 per 100k. 2022 is the last year with twelve complete months in the FBI feed; 2023 through 2025 show zeros for this agency, so no FBI rate exists for those years. Orlando PD's own count of violent crime incidents (a broader in-house definition) was 6,754 in 2023 and 5,928 in 2025, which would be about 1,775 per 100k on the 2025 population.
Homicides: Orlando Police Department: 10 homicides in 2025, the lowest since 1971, down from 23 in 2024 and 31 in 2023 (OPD's 2023 figure was reported as 38 in a January 2025 release and 31 in the February 2026 release). About 3.0 per 100k on the 2025 city population. FBI CDE 2022: 32 homicides, 10.3 per 100k.
Winters, summers and what the weather can do to a house
| Measure | Calgary | Orlando | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| January mean | -7.6 °C | 15.9 °C | Not directly comparable |
| July mean | 16.9 °C | 28.1 °C | Not directly comparable |
| Precipitation a year | 445 mm | 1,307 mm | Not directly comparable |
| Snowfall a year | 139 cm | 0 cm | Not directly comparable |
| Sunshine a year | 2,396 hours | Not published | Not directly comparable |
Environment and Climate Change Canada 1991-2020 normals, Calgary Int'l A (climate ID 3031093): January daily mean -7.6 C, July 16.9 C, 445.4 mm precipitation, 138.7 cm snowfall. Sunshine is not published in the 1991-2020 set; 2,396.3 hours is from the 1981-2010 normals for the same station. Chinook winds bring abrupt winter thaws.
Hazards: Summer hail is the costliest recurring hazard (major storms in 2020 and 2024), the Bow and Elbow rivers flooded the core in June 2013, wildfire smoke now degrades air quality most summers, and hard cold snaps reach below -30 C.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals at Orlando International Airport (USW00012815): January mean 60.6F, July mean 82.6F, annual precipitation 51.45 in, annual snowfall 0.0 in, annual mean 73.0F. June through September each average 6.4 to 8.1 in of rain. Sunshine hours are not part of the NOAA normals product and were not verified.
Hazards: Hurricanes are the main hazard: Charley (2004), Irma (2017), Ian (2022, 14 in of rain and 74 mph gusts at MCO) and Milton (2024, over 15 in of rain in parts of Central Florida plus a record one-day tornado outbreak) all damaged the area. The city sits about 100 ft above sea level and 42 mi inland, so storm surge is not a concern but inland flooding, wind damage and long power outages are. Summer heat and daily thunderstorms with lightning are routine.
What people earn and what the government takes
| Measure | Calgary | Orlando | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $98,000 CAD (2020) | $77,597 USD (2024) | Not directly comparable |
| Unemployment rate Statistics Canada and the Bureau of Labor Statistics define unemployment slightly differently; the Canadian measure runs about a point higher on the same labour market. | 6.8% (July 2026) | 4.6% (June 2026) | Not directly comparable |
| Sales tax | 5% | 6.5% | Calgary |
| Top marginal income tax Federal plus provincial or state. The American figure leaves out payroll taxes and the cost of health insurance, both of which a Canadian household covers through the tax it pays here. | 48% | 37% | Orlando |
| Income tax on $100,000, single filer Computed from each jurisdiction's brackets at a single filer's $100,000 and rounded to the dollar, so a gap of a dollar is rounding rather than tax. Two cities in one province or state are shown as Even, because there the two cells describe the same tax and whatever separates them is method. | $21,733 CAD | $13,449 USD | Not directly comparable |
Calgary's unemployment rate has run above the national rate through 2025 and 2026 even as Alberta posted the largest proportional year-over-year employment gain among provinces (+91,000, +3.5%) to July 2026; fast in-migration keeps the labour force growing faster than hiring.
Main sectors: Oil and gas head offices and energy services, Finance, engineering and professional services, Logistics and distribution (YYC cargo, rail, inland port), Technology and agri-food, Health care and education.
Alberta has no provincial sales tax, no payroll tax and no land transfer tax; Calgary levies municipal property tax on assessed value.
Leisure and hospitality employed 305,500 of 1,506,600 nonfarm jobs in the MSA in June 2026 (BLS CES, not seasonally adjusted, preliminary), about 20%, roughly double the national share, and those jobs pay below the private-sector average, which is why household income trails the US median despite fast job growth. Disney is the largest employer at about 77,000 in the region; AdventHealth employs about 37,700 and Lockheed Martin more than 14,000.
Main sectors: Tourism and hospitality (Disney, Universal, convention centre), Health care (AdventHealth, Orlando Health), Aerospace, defence and simulation (Lockheed Martin, Central Florida Research Park), Construction and real estate, Professional and business services.
No state or city income tax. Property tax runs around 1% of assessed value with a homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes 3% cap for owner-occupiers; not verified here.
Whether you need a car
| Measure | Calgary | Orlando | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| System | Calgary Transit (CTrain light rail Red and Blue lines, MAX bus rapid transit, bus network); Green Line LRT under construction | LYNX (bus, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties), SunRail (commuter rail, 16 stations DeLand to Poinciana), Brightline (intercity rail from MCO to South Florida) | Not directly comparable |
| Commute by public transit | 8.8% (2021) | 1.5% (2024) | Calgary |
| Walk or cycle to work | 5.1% (2021) | 1.7% (2024) | Calgary |
| Airport | Calgary International Airport, YYC, 19.4 million passengers in 2025 (record; 18.9 million in 2024), 108 destinations | Orlando International Airport (MCO), 57,675,573 passengers in 2025, up 0.8% on 2024, seventh busiest in the US (GOAA press release, July 28, 2026). | Not directly comparable |
93.1 million trips in 2025 under the new automated passenger counting method, versus 93.7 million restated for 2024 (RouteAhead Annual Status Report 2025, May 7, 2026). Earlier published totals used a different method and are not comparable.
LYNX carried 21,476,203 passenger trips in FY2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), more than 67,000 per weekday, on 62 routes (LYNX Facts at a Glance). SunRail passed 1.2 million riders in calendar 2024, up 12% on 2023 (SunRail press release, January 2025); APTA puts 2025 at about 1.32 million. SunRail runs weekdays only.
Health care, schools and what each city is like
Health care
Care is paid for through the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan, which is free at the point of use for residents and covers physician and hospital services but not most prescriptions, dental or vision, so employer plans matter; the province split Alberta Health Services into separate acute care, primary care and continuing care agencies in 2024 and 2025, and finding a family doctor and waiting for specialists and elective surgery are the common complaints. Major hospitals are Foothills Medical Centre, Peter Lougheed Centre, Rockyview General, South Health Campus and Alberta Children's Hospital.
Education
The University of Calgary is the city's research university, with Mount Royal University, SAIT and Bow Valley College alongside it. K-12 is run by two publicly funded boards, the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District, plus francophone boards and a sizeable provincially funded charter school sector; enrolment growth has outrun school construction in the newer suburbs.
Living there
Calgary is a spread-out, car-oriented city of single-family suburbs around a compact office core that still has high vacancy from the oil downturn, with the Rockies an hour west and a river-path network that people actually use. Winters are long but sunny and broken by chinooks, and the economy and housing market both swing with oil prices and with the in-migration surges that have made it one of Canada's fastest-growing metros since 2022.
Health care
Care is paid for through employer or marketplace insurance, Medicare and Medicaid; Florida did not expand Medicaid under the ACA, so a larger share of working adults is uninsured than in most states, and hospitality jobs often come with thin coverage. Two large non-profit systems dominate: AdventHealth Orlando (one of the biggest hospitals in the country) and Orlando Health with Orlando Regional Medical Center, the region's Level I trauma centre, plus Nemours Children's Hospital at Lake Nona and the UCF Lake Nona Hospital.
Education
The University of Central Florida enrols about 70,000 students, among the largest campuses in the US, and anchors the Central Florida Research Park; Rollins College in Winter Park and Valencia College (a two-year college with a national Aspen Prize) are the other main institutions. Orange County Public Schools is the eighth largest district in the US with roughly 200,000 students, and Florida's universal school-choice vouchers, charter schools and magnet programmes mean many families do not attend their zoned school.
Living there
Orlando is a sprawling, car-first region of master-planned subdivisions, toll roads and strip centres, with a small walkable core around Lake Eola, Thornton Park, Mills 50 and College Park, and the theme parks 15 miles southwest in a separate world of their own. Summers are long, humid and stormy, winters mild, and the population skews young and Latino, with the largest Puerto Rican community in Florida. Housing and insurance costs have risen faster than the tourism-weighted wages, and hurricane season shapes the calendar every year.
Where each city wins, and where it loses
Orlando's typical home value was $375,175 USD in June 2026 and Calgary's composite benchmark $569,200 CAD in July 2026. Those prices do not compare across currencies, but the shape of the monthly bill does. In Orlando, 20 percent down at 6.67 percent gives a $1,931 payment, then a homesteaded first-year property tax bill of about $6,043 and roughly $310 a month of home insurance, so the true carrying cost runs about 42 percent above the mortgage alone. In Calgary, 20 percent down at 4.34 percent gives $2,480, with $3,785 of property tax and about $210 of insurance, roughly 21 percent on top. Alberta charges no land transfer tax, so closing costs are unusually light, and Orlando's $2,626 transfer tax is the seller's problem. Rents sit close in their own currencies: $1,908 for a two-bedroom in Calgary in October 2025, $1,904 in Orlando in June 2026.
Calgary's Crime Severity Index was 61.7 in 2025, below the national 75.0 and down 3 percent, and homicides fell to 15, the fewest in a decade, a rate of 1.0 per 100,000. Orlando has no comparable index, because the United States does not publish one. The bigger problem is that the FBI's public feed carries no usable Orlando police data after 2022, so the last federal figures are 835.8 violent and 4,035.6 property offences per 100,000 for that year. The department's own counts since then show steep declines: 10 homicides in 2025, the fewest since 1971, down from 23 in 2024 and 31 in 2023, with shootings involving victims down 41 percent from 2023. Treat the violent rates carefully across the border. Calgary counts violent crime by victims and includes offences the FBI summary categories leave out, which is part of why its 1,086 per 100,000 reads high.
Calgary averages -7.6 C in January and hard cold snaps reach below -30, though chinooks break the winter open and the airport records 2,396.3 hours of sunshine a year. July averages 16.9 C, a mild summer by any measure. Orlando averages 15.9 C in January and 28.1 C in July, on 1,307 mm of rain, most of it in the afternoon storms of June through September. What each climate does to a house is the real difference. Calgary's expensive hazard is summer hail, with major storms in 2020 and 2024, and the Bow and Elbow flooded the core in June 2013. Orlando's is hurricanes: Charley, Irma, Ian and Milton all did damage. The city sits about 100 feet up and 42 miles inland, so storm surge is not the worry, but inland flooding, wind and long outages are. The premium shows it, about $310 a month against $210.
Orlando's labour market is larger and tighter, with 1,506,600 nonfarm jobs in the metro in June 2026 and 4.6 percent unemployment, against 6.8 percent in Calgary in July 2026, second highest among big Canadian metros. It is also narrower where it counts. Leisure and hospitality accounts for 305,500 of those jobs, about a fifth, roughly double the national share, and those jobs pay below the private-sector average. That is why the city's median household income was $77,597 USD in 2024 while Calgary's was $98,000 CAD in 2020. Tax cuts the other way, hard. A single filer on $100,000 pays about $13,449 in Orlando, all of it federal, because Florida levies no state income tax, while the same income in Calgary costs about $21,733. Sales tax is 6.5 percent in Orange County and 5 percent in Alberta. The Canadian gap buys care that is free at the point of use.
Calgary is a car city with a real train and Orlando is a car city without one. The CTrain and buses carried 93.1 million trips in 2025 and the Green Line is under construction; 8.8 percent of Calgary commuters used transit in the 2021 census and 5.1 percent walked or cycled. Orlando's LYNX buses carried 21,476,203 trips in the year to September 2025, and SunRail runs weekdays only, at roughly 1.32 million riders in 2025; 1.5 percent of city commuters used transit in 2024 and 1.7 percent walked or cycled. Neither city lets a household drop cars entirely, but Calgary lets one adult commute without one from far more addresses. Air travel flips it. MCO handled 57,675,573 passengers in 2025, seventh busiest in the United States, with Brightline running from the airport to South Florida, while YYC handled 19.4 million across 108 destinations.
Health care is the sharpest divide. Alberta's plan covers physician and hospital care with no bill, though prescriptions, dental and vision usually need an employer plan, and the standard complaints are finding a family doctor and waiting for elective surgery, made noisier by the province splitting Alberta Health Services into separate agencies through 2024 and 2025. Florida did not expand Medicaid, so a larger share of working adults goes uninsured, and hospitality jobs often carry thin coverage. The hospitals themselves are strong, with AdventHealth Orlando and Orlando Health's regional medical centre, the area's Level I trauma centre. Schooling differs in philosophy. Orange County Public Schools teaches roughly 200,000 students in the eighth largest district in the country, and Florida's universal vouchers, charters and magnets mean many families never attend their zoned school. Calgary has two public boards plus a provincially funded charter sector, with school building lagging suburban growth.
The underestimated thing is that both economies swing, in opposite ways. Calgary rises and falls with oil prices and with in-migration; its metro grew 2.9 percent in the single year to July 2025, which is why unemployment sat at 6.8 percent even as Alberta added 91,000 jobs in the year to July 2026, since the labour force grew faster than hiring. Orlando swings with travel, and a fifth of its jobs depend on people choosing to fly somewhere for fun. The other underestimated item is that Orlando's tax bill is not the one on the listing. A purchase resets the assessment to the price you paid, the homestead exemption has to be filed with the county property appraiser by 1 March of the year after you buy, and a long-tenured seller's bill tells you nothing about yours.
Better here
- Alberta charges no land transfer tax, so nothing is owed on closing beyond ordinary legal and lender costs, while Florida's is $2,626 on the typical home.
- Carrying costs sit lighter on top of the mortgage: $3,785 of property tax and about $210 a month of insurance, roughly 21 percent above the $2,480 payment, against 42 percent in Orlando.
- Summer is mild, with a July mean of 16.9 C against Orlando's 28.1 C, and 2,396.3 hours of sunshine a year.
- Care is free at the point of use through the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan.
- Crime severity is below the national figure at 61.7 in 2025, and homicides fell to 15, about 1.0 per 100,000, the lowest count in ten years.
- Median household income was $98,000 in 2020, well ahead of Orlando's $77,597 in 2024 in its own currency.
Worse here
- Unemployment was 6.8 percent in July 2026, second highest among large Canadian metros, against 4.6 percent around Orlando.
- Income tax is heavy by comparison: about $21,733 on $100,000, against $13,449 in Orlando where the state takes nothing.
- Winter is long, January averages -7.6 C, and cold snaps reach below -30 C.
- Summer hail is the costliest recurring hazard, with major storms in 2020 and 2024, and the rivers flooded the core in June 2013.
- There is no rent control: Alberta limits how often rent can rise, once every 365 days, but not by how much.
- The office core still carries high vacancy from the oil downturn, and the housing market swings with oil prices.
Choose Calgary if
- you want a detached house near $743,900 CAD with no transfer tax at closing
- you would rather have a mild 16.9 C July than a warm January
- you want health cover that does not depend on your employer
- your work is in energy, engineering or logistics rather than hospitality
The Calgary guide · Neighbourhoods · Calgary rent vs buy · Calgary mortgage calculator
Better here
- Florida levies no state income tax, so $100,000 of income costs about $13,449, all of it federal.
- Unemployment was 4.6 percent in June 2026 in a metro of 2.96 million with 1,506,600 nonfarm jobs.
- Winters are warm, with a January mean of 15.9 C and no snow at all.
- The typical home is $375,175 and the mortgage payment $1,931 with 20 percent down.
- MCO handled 57,675,573 passengers in 2025, seventh busiest in the United States, with Brightline running to South Florida from the airport.
- Homicides fell to 10 in 2025, the fewest since 1971, down from 31 in 2023.
Worse here
- Property tax and insurance add about $814 a month to the $1,931 payment, roughly 42 percent again.
- Hurricanes are routine: Charley, Irma, Ian and Milton all damaged the area, and inland flooding and long power outages come with them.
- About a fifth of metro jobs are in leisure and hospitality, 305,500 of 1,506,600, and they pay below the private-sector average.
- Median household income was $77,597 in 2024, trailing the US median despite fast job growth.
- Transit is close to irrelevant for commuting: 1.5 percent of city commuters used it in 2024, and SunRail runs weekdays only.
- Florida did not expand Medicaid, so more working adults are uninsured and hospitality coverage is often thin.
Choose Orlando if
- you earn well and would rather pay it out as insurance premiums than as income tax
- you cannot take a Canadian winter and will accept a 28.1 C July instead
- you fly constantly and want one of the busiest airports in the country
- your work is in hospitality, health care, defence or simulation
The Orlando guide · Neighborhoods · Orlando rent vs buy · Orlando mortgage calculator
Calgary or Orlando, in short
Is Calgary or Orlando cheaper to live in?
Compare the monthly shape rather than the prices, since one is CAD and the other USD. Orlando's $375,175 home carries a $1,931 payment, then about $6,043 a year in property tax once homesteaded and roughly $310 a month of insurance, which is about 42 percent added to the mortgage. Calgary's $569,200 benchmark carries $2,480, $3,785 of tax and about $210 of insurance, roughly 21 percent added. Rents are almost identical in local money, $1,908 against $1,904 for a two-bedroom. Calgary charges no land transfer tax; Florida's income tax is zero.
Is Calgary or Orlando safer?
Calgary looks safer, though the Orlando data is weak. Calgary's Crime Severity Index was 61.7 in 2025, under the national 75.0, with 15 homicides, about 1.0 per 100,000. Orlando's police reported 10 homicides in 2025, the fewest since 1971, roughly 3.0 per 100,000, down from 31 in 2023. Past that, the FBI feed has no usable Orlando data after 2022, when the rates were 835.8 violent and 4,035.6 property offences per 100,000. Cross-border rate comparisons also mislead, because Canada counts offences the FBI summary categories exclude.
Which has the better climate, Calgary or Orlando?
They fail in opposite seasons. Calgary is cold, with a January mean of -7.6 C and snaps below -30 C, but its July mean of 16.9 C makes summer easy and it records 2,396.3 hours of sunshine a year. Orlando never freezes, with 15.9 C in January, and then delivers 28.1 C in July on 1,307 mm of rain, most of it in daily afternoon storms with lightning. If humidity is what you cannot bear, Calgary. If shovelling is, Orlando. Neither escapes a costly hazard, hail in one and hurricanes in the other.
Will my Orlando property tax match what the seller pays?
No, and assuming it will is the common mistake. Florida assesses at full market value and a sale resets the assessment to your purchase price, while Save Our Homes caps a homesteaded owner's assessed value at 3 percent growth a year, so a long-tenured seller can be taxed on a fraction of what you will owe. The homestead exemption takes $25,000 off for every taxing authority and another $25,000 off for all but the Orange County school district, which levies 6.4490 of the 18.0878 mills. You must file for it by 1 March of the year after you buy. Budget about $6,043.
Where the figures come from
Housing figures are the ones behind each city's calculators, dated on those pages. The rest are listed here with the date they were retrieved. See the methodology for how facts, estimates and opinion are kept apart.
- Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population: Calgary, City (CY), Alberta · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: City population, Five-year growth, Median household income, Transit commute share, Walk and cycle commute share
- Population estimates, July 1, by census metropolitan area and census agglomeration, 2021 boundaries (table 17-10-0148-01) · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: Metro population
- Canada's population estimates: Subprovincial areas, 2025 · Statistics Canada, The Daily · retrieved Supports: Five-year growth, character
- Police-reported Crime Severity Index and crime rate, by census metropolitan area, 2025 · Statistics Canada, The Daily · retrieved Supports: Crime Severity Index, Crime trend
- 2025 Crime Report, Report to Calgary Police Commission · Calgary Police Service · retrieved Supports: Violent crime rate, Property crime rate, Homicides, Crime trend, City population
- Canadian Climate Normals 1991-2020, Calgary Int'l A · Environment and Climate Change Canada · retrieved Supports: January mean, July mean, Annual precipitation, Annual snowfall
- Canadian Climate Normals 1981-2010, Calgary Int'l A · Environment and Climate Change Canada · retrieved Supports: Sunshine hours
- Labour Force Survey, July 2026 · Statistics Canada, The Daily · retrieved Supports: Unemployment rate, Labour market
- Calgary unemployment rate dropped in July, but remains among highest in Canada · CBC News · retrieved Supports: Unemployment rate
- Alberta tax overview · Government of Alberta · retrieved Supports: Sales tax, Income tax on $100,000, Tax notes
- Alberta 2025 & 2026 Tax Rates & Tax Brackets · TaxTips.ca · retrieved Supports: Top marginal income tax, Income tax on $100,000
- Canada 2025 & 2026 Tax Rates & Tax Brackets · TaxTips.ca · retrieved Supports: Income tax on $100,000
- RouteAhead Annual Status Report 2025 (IP2026-0142, Attachment 2) · City of Calgary, Calgary Transit · retrieved Supports: Transit ridership, Transit system
- From home to work: Commuting in Canada's cities, May 2024 · Statistics Canada · retrieved Supports: Transit commute share
- YYC Calgary International Airport welcomed 19.4 million passengers in 2025 · Calgary Airports · retrieved Supports: Airport passengers
- Calgary victim's family not celebrating Calgary's 10-year low homicide rate · CP24 / CTV News · retrieved Supports: Homicides
- Data about Calgary's population · City of Calgary · retrieved Supports: City population, Median household income
- Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places in Florida: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025 (SUB-EST2025) · US Census Bureau · retrieved Supports: City population, Five-year growth, crime.homicides rate
- Annual Resident Population Estimates for Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025 (CBSA-EST2025-ALLDATA) · US Census Bureau · retrieved Supports: Metro population, Five-year growth
- Crime Data Explorer, Orlando Police Department summarized offenses (violent crime, property crime, homicide), 2021-2025 · FBI · retrieved Supports: Violent crime rate, Property crime rate, crime.homicides 2022
- Proactive policing in Orlando yields significant crime reductions · WFTV · retrieved Supports: Homicides, Crime trend, crime notes
- Police say crimes, including homicides, declining in Orlando · Spectrum News 13 · retrieved Supports: Homicides, Crime trend
- Orlando Police: 2025 violent crime down 9 percent in the City Beautiful · Headline Surfer · retrieved Supports: Crime trend, crime.homicides 2024
- Orlando Police Department releases 2024 crime statistics · WFTV via Yahoo News · retrieved Supports: Crime trend
- U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, station USW00012815 (Orlando International Airport), monthly and annual · NOAA NCEI · retrieved Supports: January mean, July mean, Annual precipitation, Annual snowfall
- Orlando, Florida (climate and hurricane history) · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards, character
- Hurricane Milton · Wikipedia · retrieved Supports: Climate hazards
- ACS 2024 1-year, tables B19013 and B08301, Orlando city and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford MSA · US Census Bureau via Census Reporter API · retrieved Supports: Median household income, Transit commute share, Walk and cycle commute share
- Local Area Unemployment Statistics, series LAUMT123674000000003 (Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford MSA unemployment rate) · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · retrieved Supports: Unemployment rate
- Current Employment Statistics, series SMU12367400000000001 and SMU12367407000000001 (Orlando MSA total nonfarm and leisure and hospitality) · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · retrieved Supports: Labour market
- Top employers and talent report search results (Disney, AdventHealth, Lockheed Martin employment) · Orlando Economic Partnership · retrieved Supports: Main sectors, Labour market
- Orange County, Florida sales tax rate 2026 · Avalara · retrieved Supports: Sales tax
- 2025 Tax Brackets · Tax Foundation · retrieved Supports: Top marginal income tax, Income tax on $100,000
- Facts at a Glance · LYNX (Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority) · retrieved Supports: Transit system, Transit ridership
- SunRail Ridership Grows to 1.2 Million Riders in 2024 · SunRail · retrieved Supports: Transit ridership
- Orlando International Moves Up In 2025 National Rankings for Busiest Airport · Greater Orlando Aviation Authority · retrieved Supports: Airport passengers
- City of Calgary Monthly Statistics Package, July 2026 · Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®) · retrieved Supports: Benchmark price of $569,200, Benchmark prices by property type
- Rental Market Survey: Calgary, average rent by bedroom type, October 2025 · Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation · retrieved Supports: One-bedroom average rent of $1,581, Two-bedroom average rent of $1,908
- Current property tax rates · City of Calgary · retrieved Supports: 2026 municipal residential rate, 2026 provincial education rate
- Premium information for homeowner and small rental loans · Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation · retrieved Supports: Mortgage default insurance premium rates by loan-to-value
- CMHC revises homeowner mortgage loan insurance premiums · Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation · retrieved Supports: The 20 basis point surcharge on a 30-year insured amortization
- Regulations amending the Insurable Housing Loan Regulations and the Eligible Mortgage Loan Regulations (SOR/2025-55) · Canada Gazette, Part II · retrieved Supports: The $1.5 million insured price cap, 30-year amortization for first-time buyers and new builds
- Minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages · Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions · retrieved Supports: The qualifying rate of the contract rate plus two points, or 5.25%
- Interest rates charged for new and existing lending by chartered banks · Bank of Canada · retrieved Supports: The default mortgage rate of 4.34%, uninsured five-year-plus fixed, funds advanced May 2026
- How much will my home really cost? · Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation · retrieved Supports: Closing costs of 1.5% to 4% of the purchase price, Home inspection and appraisal ranges
- Land Titles and Surveys common documents fee schedule · Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, Government of Alberta · retrieved Supports: Transfer registration fee, Mortgage registration fee
- During a tenancy: rent increases · Government of Alberta · retrieved Supports: No cap on rent increases, 365-day frequency limit, Notice periods
- Alberta's tax advantage · Government of Alberta · retrieved Supports: Alberta levies no land transfer tax
- Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), all homes, mid-tier, smoothed and seasonally adjusted: city file, June 2026 · Zillow Research · retrieved Supports: A typical home value for the 35th to 65th percentile of each municipality's market, computed on one method across all twenty-four, Year-over-year change to June 2026, which is negative in twenty-two of the twenty-four, The same series and month the Charlotte metro pages use, so the two American metros can be read against each other
- 2025 Final Millage Rates · Orange County Property Appraiser · retrieved Supports: Orange County general at 4.4347 mills, the library district at 0.3748 and the St Johns River Water Management District at 0.1793, School state and local levies totalling 6.449 mills, Municipal rates from Windermere's 3.7425 to Eatonville's 7.2938, A published total against every mill code, including Winter Park's 15.3615 on codes 2, 4 and 6, Maitland's 16.3055 on code 6, and Windermere's 15.2311 on code 35 and 15.4839 on code 75, A blank library column on every Winter Park and Maitland code, which is what puts both municipalities outside the district
- Special taxing district information: the Orange County Library District's boundary · Orange County Library System · retrieved Supports: The district's boundary is Orange County exclusive of Winter Park and Maitland, each of which operates its own library, Laws of Florida chapter 99-486 as the enabling act behind it
- Final 2025 Millage Rates, fiscal year 2025-26 · Seminole County Property Appraiser · retrieved Supports: Total millage by taxing authority for every Seminole municipality, from Lake Mary's 14.3929 to Casselberry's 18.1808, School required local and discretionary levies totalling 5.2490 mills, The county fire and road MSTUs, which apply in the unincorporated area and in some cities but not others
- 2025 Final Millage Rates · Osceola County Property Appraiser · retrieved Supports: Kissimmee at 17.4114 mills and Saint Cloud at 17.8989, School levies totalling 5.3060 mills across required local, discretionary and capital, Dozens of separate municipal service taxing units in the unincorporated county, from 0.13 to 12.42 mills, which is why an unincorporated Osceola address cannot be given one rate
- 2025 Final Millage Rates by district, and the 2025 Final Millage Rates and Values Comparison Sheet · Lake County Property Appraiser · retrieved Supports: Total millage for every Lake municipality, from Leesburg's 15.9477 to Eustis's 19.8623, Leesburg's own adopted rate of 3.4752 mills, on the district sheet and again as the 2025 adopted rate on the comparison sheet, School board state and local levies totalling 6.0850 mills, The county fire, ambulance and stormwater MSTUs and which municipalities are subject to them, including that an incorporated city pays neither the fire nor the stormwater MSTU
- Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 2020 to 2024 · United States Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program · retrieved Supports: 2020 census counts and 2024 population estimates for each municipality, Leesburg's growth from 27,011 to 37,815, the fastest in the metro in percentage terms, Orlando at 334,854, which is twelve percent of its own metropolitan area
- Primary Mortgage Market Survey · Freddie Mac · retrieved Supports: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 6.67%
- Average cost of homeowners insurance in Florida, 2026 · MoneyGeek · retrieved Supports: A Florida average of about $3,815 a year against a national average of about $2,543, Orange County premiums in the $3,200 to $4,500 range, at the cheaper end of the state because the metro is inland
- Conforming loan limit values for 2026 · Federal Housing Finance Agency · retrieved Supports: A baseline one-unit conforming loan limit of $832,750 for 2026, which applies in every county in this metro
- Documentary stamp tax · Florida Department of Revenue · retrieved Supports: 70 cents per $100 on a deed, in every county except Miami-Dade, which charges 60 cents plus a 45-cent surtax, 35 cents per $100 on a promissory note or other written obligation to pay money
- Governmental leasehold intangible personal property tax and the non-recurring intangible tax on mortgages · Florida Department of Revenue · retrieved Supports: A non-recurring intangible tax of 2 mills: 0.2%, on the obligation secured by a mortgage on Florida real property
- Property tax exemptions and additional benefits · Florida Department of Revenue · retrieved Supports: A $25,000 homestead exemption applying to all taxing authorities and a second slice, $25,000 in the 2024 base year and adjusted for inflation each 1 January since, applying to all but the school district, The Save Our Homes assessment limitation of 3% or the change in CPI, whichever is lower, Portability of up to $500,000 of accrued Save Our Homes benefit to a new homestead, The 1 March filing deadline
- Chapter 2023-17, Laws of Florida: preemption of rent control · The Florida Senate · retrieved Supports: The repeal of the referendum exception that had allowed a local rent control ordinance in a declared housing emergency