Cost of living comparison

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

Fort Lauderdale is 3.8% more expensive than Houston.

Restaurants
pay 10.9% more in Fort Lauderdale
Groceries
pay 22.1% more in Fort Lauderdale
Transportation
pay 5.3% less in Fort Lauderdale
Housing
pay 23.2% more in Fort Lauderdale
Childcare
pay 37.2% less in Fort Lauderdale
Entertainment and Sports
pay 21.8% more in Fort Lauderdale
Clothing
pay 9.2% less in Fort Lauderdale

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

Fort Lauderdale vs. Houston Cost Breakdown

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

pay 10.9% more for restaurants

 
Houston
Fort Lauderdale
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.00
 
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.00
 
$10.50
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.53
 
$2.75
 

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pay 22.1% more for groceries

 
Houston
Fort Lauderdale
Bread
1 loaf
$2.97
 
$4.28
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.39
 
$5.78
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.43
 
$4.16
 

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pay 5.3% less for transportation

 
Houston
Fort Lauderdale
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.88
 
$3.39
 
Monthly public transit pass $75.00
 
$72.50
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,278.39
 
$27,000.00
 

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pay 23.2% more for housing

 
Houston
Fort Lauderdale
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$66.71
 
$64.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,582.84
 
$2,315.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,189.12
 
$1,977.09
 

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pay 37.2% less for childcare

 
Houston
Fort Lauderdale
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,457.58
 
$816.67
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,000.00
 
$16,000.00
 

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pay 21.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Houston
Fort Lauderdale
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.00
 
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.27
 
$5.33
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.97
 
$10.00
 

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pay 9.2% less for clothing

 
Houston
Fort Lauderdale
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$47.14
 
$47.50
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$43.00
 
$45.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$103.28
 
$88.00
 

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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
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