Cost of living comparison

 Charlotte (NC), United States
compared to
 Fort Lauderdale (FL), United States
Fort Lauderdale vs. Charlotte Cost of Living Summary

Fort Lauderdale is 8.7% cheaper than Charlotte.

Restaurants
pay 7.6% more in Fort Lauderdale
Groceries
pay 11.7% less in Fort Lauderdale
Transportation
pay 17.6% less in Fort Lauderdale
Housing
pay 0.9% more in Fort Lauderdale
Childcare
pay 37.0% less in Fort Lauderdale
Entertainment and Sports
pay 15.9% more in Fort Lauderdale
Clothing
pay 19.1% less in Fort Lauderdale

The cost of entertainment and sports, restaurants, and housing in Fort Lauderdale are more expensive than in Charlotte. Expenses including childcare, clothing, transportation, and groceries are lower in Fort Lauderdale.

Fort Lauderdale vs. Charlotte Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Fort Lauderdale instead of Charlotte, you would:

pay 7.6% more for restaurants

 
Charlotte
Fort Lauderdale
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.00
 
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.00
 
$10.50
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.51
 
$2.75
 

Improve prices ·

pay 11.7% less for groceries

 
Charlotte
Fort Lauderdale
Bread
1 loaf
$3.82
 
$4.28
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.85
 
$5.78
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.98
 
$4.16
 

Improve prices ·

pay 17.6% less for transportation

 
Charlotte
Fort Lauderdale
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.25
 
$3.39
 
Monthly public transit pass $99.00
 
$72.50
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $34,689.37
 
$27,000.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 0.9% more for housing

 
Charlotte
Fort Lauderdale
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$76.11
 
$64.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,996.88
 
$2,315.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,690.12
 
$1,977.09
 

Improve prices ·

pay 37.0% less for childcare

 
Charlotte
Fort Lauderdale
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,270.00
 
$816.67
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $25,900.00
 
$16,000.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 15.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Charlotte
Fort Lauderdale
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.00
 
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.81
 
$5.33
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$8.50
 
$10.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 19.1% less for clothing

 
Charlotte
Fort Lauderdale
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$57.91
 
$47.50
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$47.71
 
$45.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$112.67
 
$88.00
 

Improve prices ·
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2025
Share this

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Fort Lauderdale or Charlotte. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.