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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Look, a 86-point spread tells the whole story in Florida: Miami at index 173 vs. Tallahassee at 87. The difference translates to roughly $1,480/month in rent alone ($2,964 vs. $1,484). Which side of that divide you land on shapes your entire budget. Full 22-city ranking below.
#1 Ranked: Miami — cost index 173, rent $2,964/mo, income $59,390
86-point cost gap between #1 and #22
6 of 22 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Look, a 86-point spread tells the whole story in Florida: Miami at index 173 vs. Tallahassee at 87. The difference translates to roughly $1,480/month in rent alone ($2,964 vs. $1,484). Which side of that divide you land on shapes your entire budget. Full 22-city ranking below.
Miami earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 173 cost index sits 62 points above the national baseline, and the $59,390 median income means purchasing power here is partially offset by higher costs. Homes list at $573,963 — $106,593 above the national median, reflecting the local market dynamics. On the cost side, Healthcare leads the way at 115, while Housing trails at 173.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
Miami (index 173) and Tallahassee (index 87) sit 86 points apart on the cost index — proof that Florida is far from monolithic in affordability.
Rent ranges from $2,964/mo in Miami to $1,484/mo in Tallahassee — a monthly difference of $1,480, or $17,760 per year.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 173 | $2,964 | Details |
| 2 | Miami Gardens | 161 | $2,756 | Details |
| 3 | Fort Lauderdale | 159 | $2,718 | Details |
| 4 | Pembroke Pines | 151 | $2,582 | Details |
| 5 | Miramar | 150 | $2,565 | Details |
| 6 | Hialeah | 142 | $2,437 | Details |
| 7 | Coral Springs | 138 | $2,373 | Details |
| 8 | Port St Lucie | 137 | $2,350 | Details |
| 9 | Davie | 136 | $2,330 | Details |
| 10 | Pompano Beach | 134 | $2,302 | Details |
| 11 | West Palm Beach | 132 | $2,256 | Details |
| 12 | Hollywood | 131 | $2,237 | Details |
| 13 | St Petersburg | 120 | $2,048 | Details |
| 14 | Tampa | 115 | $1,968 | Details |
| 15 | Clearwater | 111 | $1,904 | Details |
| 16 | Cape Coral | 111 | $1,898 | Details |
| 17 | Palm Bay | 109 | $1,866 | Details |
| 18 | Orlando | 108 | $1,857 | Details |
| 19 | Lakeland | 98 | $1,678 | Details |
| 20 | Gainesville | 94 | $1,604 | Details |
| 21 | Jacksonville | 92 | $1,576 | Details |
| 22 | Tallahassee | 87 | $1,484 | Details |
455,924 residents · Florida
Real talk: Miami earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 173 cost index sits 62 points above the national baseline, and the $59,390 median income means purchasing power here is partially offset by higher costs. Homes list at $573,963 — $106,593 above the national median, reflecting the local market dynamics. On the cost side, Healthcare leads the way at 115, while Housing trails at 173 (that's pre-tax, of course).
110,717 residents · Florida
Miami Gardens earns its position at #2 through a combination that's hard to replicate. You get the picture. The 161 cost index sits 50 points above the national baseline, and the $60,979 — we had to double-check this one — median income means purchasing power here is partially offset by higher costs. Homes list at $464,022 — $3,348 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Healthcare leads the way at 112, while Housing trails at 161.
184,255 residents · Florida
So, Fort Lauderdale. Cost index of 159, rent at $2,718/month. It's higher than the national average. Median income is $79,935, which is below the national median. Fairly typical for a city this size.
171,119 residents · Florida
Pembroke Pines earns its position at #4 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 151 cost index sits 40 points above the national baseline, and the $81,675 — for better or worse — median income means purchasing power here is partially offset by higher costs. Homes list at $485,730 — $18,360 above the national median, reflecting the local market dynamics. On the cost side, Healthcare leads the way at 110, while Housing trails at 151.
138,319 residents · Florida
Why Miramar ranks #5: the numbers tell a clear story. At 150 on the cost index, residents spend roughly 39% more than the typical American. Rent sits at $2,565/month while the median household pulls in $86,109/year. The Healthcare category is particularly strong at 110, though Housing (150) lags behind. Home prices average $514,738 — $47,368 above the national median (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
Cities with the highest rents in Florida are ranked from most expensive to least. High rent doesn't always mean unaffordable — we pair rent data with income to show the full picture. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Miami ranks #1 in Florida for this analysis with a cost index of 173 and median income of $59,390.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Miami (ranked #1) has a cost index of 173 and rent of $2,964/mo, while Tallahassee (ranked #22) has a cost index of 87 and rent of $1,484/mo — a 86-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Miami is $2,964/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $1,069 above the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Miami is $573,963, which is 9.7× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
Florida has a 0% state income tax rate — one of the states with no income tax. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.05%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.8%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.