The Cheapest And Most Expensive Cities To Live In Florida
Rankings are based on cost-of-living factors including accommodation, leisure, groceries, clothing, transport and utilities and bills. These factors were weighted against the average annual personal income in each city to create an index of the cheapest cities to live in Florida.
Cost of Living in Florida – 20+ Popular Places Ranked
One thing on almost everyone’s mind when they move to Florida is what the cost of living is like here.
While the cost of living should not be the only thing you think about when deciding where to live, it can play an important role in that decision.
For this article, I’ve examined the cost of living in 20 of Florida’s most popular cities, closely mirroring my list of the Best Places to Retire in Florida.
Read on to see what I discovered, or you can jump to a specific section:
- Methodology
- Least Expensive Places to Live in Florida
- Ocala – 87 (Cost of Living Index)
- Citrus Hills – 87.8
- Babcock Ranch – 93.7
- Daytona Beach – 94.9
- Melbourne – 95.6
- Most Expensive Places to Live in Florida
- Key West – 148.2
- Delray Beach – 114.1
- Naples – 113
- St. Augustine – 110.9
- Winter Garden – 106
- Other Popular Cities (Lowest to Highest)
- Key Findings
- Final Thoughts
Methodology
Most sources express the cost of living for different cities as an index (cost of living index they call it) with the average cost of living in the United States being expressed as a baseline of 100. So, if for example a place has a cost of living index of 105, its cost of living is considered to be 5% more expensive than the national average. If a place has a cost of living index of 95, its cost of living is considered to be 5% less expensive than the national average. Florida as a state comes in with a cost of living index of 102.8. The data below comes from BestPlaces.net. They get their data from a long list of government and private organizations. Costs included in the index include housing prices for renters or homeowners, utilities (electric, natural gas, oil), healthcare costs (premiums and common surgeries), entertainment costs, transportation expenses (vehicle insurance and registration fees, gas prices and commuting costs, vehicle depreciation), food prices (meat, dairy, ready-to-eat, and more), child care (for both infants and toddlers, at home and away from home), and taxes (income, property, sales, motor vehicle). Obviously some of those costs may not apply to you, so at the end of the day, you’ll want to crunch your own numbers. But this should serve as a great starting point for you. On to the results!
Least Expensive Places to Live in Florida
Here are some of the least expensive places I found. Keep in mind that I’m using cities and places that appear on my best places to retire list. There might be cheaper places in Florida in which to live, but they might not necessarily be that appealing for retirement.
Ocala – 87 (Cost of Living Index)
The home of the ever-popular On Top of the World and several other 55+ communities comes in as the least expensive place to retire on our list.
Citrus Hills – 87.8
Not a big surprise here, as Citrus Hills is only about 45 minutes from Ocala. Citrus Hills is of course home to the Villages of Citrus Hills.
Babcock Ranch – 93.7
Babcock Ranch is a little too new and too small to be included in the BestPlaces data, so I went with the cost of living for Punta Gorda which is right next door, and a lot of the homes in Babcock Ranch actually have a Punta Gorda address.
Daytona Beach – 94.9
Residents of Latitude Margaritaville Daytona rejoice! You’re living in one of the least expensive places to live in the state. That means more money left over for Landshark Lager and Daytona 500 tickets.
Melbourne – 95.6
Melbourne is a popular spot along Florida’s Space (East) Coast, and is home to the master-planned community of Viera, which year after year is always one of the best selling communities in Florida.
Most Expensive Places to Live in Florida
By contrast, here are some of the most expensive places I found. With the exception of the first one, I don’t feel like the other ones are too terribly cost prohibitive.
Key West – 148.2
If you’re thinking about retirement in the Florida Keys, I hope you don’t think you’re going to do it on a tight budget. In addition to Key West, I tried but could not find much cost of living relief in other popular places like Marathon, Islamorada, and Key Largo.
Delray Beach – 114.1
No surprise to see Delray here. Palm Beach County is one of the highest-price parts of the state, and you’ll find similar cost of living in other nearby cities like Boca Raton and Boynton Beach.
Naples – 113
Based on reputation, I honestly thought Naples would be more expensive than it is. It still makes the “most expensive” part of our list, but it doesn’t seem too terrible to me.
St. Augustine – 110.9
I’m kind of surprised that St. Augustine made it to this part of the list because, at least in the way of home prices, the 55+ communities in the area are some of the most affordable.
Winter Garden – 106
Winter Garden is not terribly expensive, but just a tad bit over the average for Florida. A lot of the higher costs are due to its proximity to the Orlando area theme parks and high-priced cities like Windermere.
Other Popular Cities (Lowest to Highest)
Here’s a look at how some other cities that are either on or have been on our best places list stack up with one another:| City | Cost of Living Index |
|---|---|
| Jacksonville | 95.7 |
| The Villages | 97.9 |
| Port St. Lucie | 98.6 |
| Kissimmee | 98.7 |
| St. Cloud | 101.1 |
| Clearwater/St. Pete | 102.8 |
| Fort Myers | 104.2 |
| Tampa | 104.2 |
| Venice | 105.3 |
| Sarasota | 105.3 |
| Orlando | 106 |
Key Findings
As I examined the data, it didn’t take long to figure out that the main factor in whether a particular place had a low, moderate, or high cost of living was housing costs – what is costs to buy or rent in each location. The cost of a gallon of milk or a kilowatt of electricity simply doesn’t vary that much across the state and doesn’t tip the scales much in either direction. Also, here’s a complete breakdown of what it costs to live in The Villages, Florida’s most popular retirement location.
Final Thoughts
With the exception of the Florida Keys, I feel like overall the majority of the places I looked at had a reasonable cost of living. Which makes sense really, remembering that Florida overall comes in at just 2.8% higher than the national average. While no cost of living analysis will ever be perfect, in part because everyone’s spending levels and thoughts on what qualifies as cheap or expensive will vary, I hope this article provides a great starting place for your own thinking and research. Feel free to drop any questions you have in the comments section down below.
Reader Interactions
Comments
This is very helpful as we are considering relocating soon. I was surprised at Ormond Beach though. I’ll continue to follow, this move is this fall hopefully.
Ryan, an excellent article with a lot of valuable information, however, it seemed a lot of the retirement areas mentioned are some of the most expensive in the state. Although most are expensive, and to each their own, I would suggest checking out Punta Gorda. From high to low, a beautiful small town full of recreational activities, a beautiful downtown area, a very active community, not to mention the 2nd largest water harbor area and water activities in the state. Located on Charlotte Harbor, easily accessible to Orlando, Tampa, St Pete, Sarasota, Ft Myers, Naples, Stuart, WPalm, Ft Lauderdale, Miami, Fl keys Etc.
A hidden Gem with the beautiful weather, and a beautiful community with every conceivable convenience needed or wanted! And we’ve not only lived in a number of your suggestions and visited all of the others, this one is difficult to beat in every category!
Thank you
Love Punta Gorda but Hurricane Charley was enough to make me not choose it. Hurricane blew right up through that harbor. The devastation was bad.
Ryan,
Just a comment of what a great writer you are!
It’s like you’re speaking directly to the reader.
Thank you for all you do! You’ll never realize how you effect so many lives.
Curious why Palm Coast is never mentioned in reviews like yours? We have friends who live there. Seems quiet and less touristy than many of the locations on your list. Thanks.
Palm Coast has been on my list in prior years and I’m sure it will return in future years. Just as you described it…quiet and less touristy. Here’s a guide: https://www.floridaforboomers.com/retirement-spotlight-palm-coast/
How much have these prices gone up for housing in the last year? I’ve been “eying” Citrus Hills and the prices have jumped way up in the last 8 months!
The Cheapest And Most Expensive Cities To Live In Florida
A brand-new index study released by FloridaRentals.com reveals the cheapest and most expensive cities to live in Florida.
- Florida’s Cheapest And Most Expensive Cities To Live In
- Hollywood
- Fort Myers
- Boca Raton
- Bradenton
- Melbourne
- Tampa
Florida’s Cheapest And Most Expensive Cities To Live In
The research reveals Hollywood is the cheapest, achieving an index score of 61.29 out of 100.
The study delves into Numbeo cost of living data, highlighting the cost of several factors, from eggs and bread to gym memberships, taxi costs and internet bills. All 29 cities in Florida were ranked against 8 determining factors to receive a score out of 100.
Rankings are based on cost-of-living factors including accommodation, leisure, groceries, clothing, transport and utilities and bills. These factors were weighted against the average annual personal income in each city to create an index of the cheapest cities to live in Florida.
Overall Rank City Overall Score out of 100 1 Hollywood 61.29 2 Fort Myers 60.19 3 Boca Raton 59.76 4 Bradenton 59.64 5 Melbourne 58.72 6 Delray Beach 57.59 7 West Palm Beach 57.31 8 Boynton Beach 57.26 9 Deerfield Beach 56.32 10 Palm Coast 56.20 11 Cape Coral 55.33 12 Deltona 54.93 13 Port St. Lucie 54.80 14 Daytona Beach 53.67 15 Winter Haven 52.52 16 Fort Lauderdale 52.39 17 Tallahassee 51.81 18 Lakeland 50.64 19 Jacksonville 50.60 20 St. Petersburg 50.25 21 Pensacola 50.06 22 Ocala 49.14 23 Kissimmee 48.71 24 Clearwater 47.64 25 Sarasota 47.39 26 Miami 45.25 27 Orlando 44.48 28 Gainesville 41.76 29 Tampa 36.07 Hollywood
Hollywood ranks at number one, with a score of 61.29 out of 100, the city scored highest for clothing and transport. The average cost of a pair of jeans (Levis 501 or similar) in Hollywood is $35, and the average price of a one-way ticket on public transportation is just $2.
Fort Myers
In second is Fort Myers, with an index score of 60.19 out of 100. Fort Myers’ scored highest for utilities and bills and clothing. In Fort Myers, the average monthly cost of basic utilities for an 85 meter-squared apartment is $129.28. The average cost price of a summer dress in a high street retailer is $25.
Boca Raton
Third in the ranking is Boca Raton, with an index score of 59.76 out of 100. Boca Raton scores highest for clothing and utilities and bills. In Boca Raton, the average cost of a mobile phone monthly plan with calls and 10GB+ data is $43.
Bradenton
In fourth place is Bradenton, with a score of 59.64 out of 100, the city scores highly for its accommodation and utilities and bills. In Bradenton, the average monthly rental of a one-bedroom apartment in the city center is $1,500.
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Melbourne
In fifth place is Melbourne, with 58.72 out of 100, transport and utilities and bills are its highest scoring factors. In Melbourne, the average cost of taxi transportation per kilometer is $1.49.
Rounding out the top ten are, Delray Beach, West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Deerfield Beach and Palm Cost.
Tampa
The most expensive Florida city is Tampa, with a low score of 36.07 out of 100, the most expensive metrics are leisure and transportation. In Tampa, the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in the city center is $2,091.89, whilst the renting of a tennis court for one hour at the weekend costs around $20.99.
A spokesperson for FloridaRentals.com has commented on the study findings:
“Florida is known for having a relatively diverse cost of living that can vary significantly depending on each specific city. Whilst Hollywood’s annual personal income per capita is fairly high, at $73,522, other factors rank extremely well against this figure, which is why it ranks at the top spot. Fort Myers’ annual personal income per capita is $62,885 and its cheapest factor is clothing, with the average cost price of a summer dress in a high street retailer is $25.
Housing costs can vary across Florida, with cities like Miami, Tampa and Orlando that tend to have higher housing costs compared to the more rural cities which offer more affordable housing options. As for the cost of utilities including electricity, water, and air conditioning, these can also vary based on location, usage, and the time of year.
Reports state Fort Myers is the warmest city in Florida, closely followed by Miami. However, despite the need for air conditioning, interestingly Fort Myers still has an inexpensive utilities and bills score of 81.11 out of 100. Tampa is the most expensive city in the index, with the annual personal income per capita at $58,315, leisure, transport and accommodation are the costliest amenities across the city.”
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