Lakeland vs. Austin Cost of Living Summary

Lakeland is 5.4% cheaper than Austin.

Restaurants
pay 10.9% less in Lakeland
Groceries
pay 13.1% more in Lakeland
Transportation
pay 9.0% more in Lakeland
Housing
pay 5.5% more in Lakeland
Childcare
pay 18.2% less in Lakeland
Entertainment and Sports
pay 16.7% less in Lakeland
Clothing
pay 19.4% less in Lakeland

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

Lakeland vs. Austin Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lakeland instead of Austin, you would:

pay 10.9% less for restaurants

 
Austin
Lakeland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.00
 
$18.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.00
 
$9.29
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.67
 
$2.55
 

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pay 13.1% more for groceries

 
Austin
Lakeland
Bread
1 loaf
$3.40
 
$3.61
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.17
 
$6.06
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.93
 
$4.32
 

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pay 9.0% more for transportation

 
Austin
Lakeland
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.79
 
$3.12
 
Monthly public transit pass $41.38
 
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $27,900.00
 
$36,050.00
 

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pay 5.5% more for housing

 
Austin
Lakeland
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$68.20
 
$60.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,134.75
 
$1,795.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,434.41
 
$1,459.75
 

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pay 18.2% less for childcare

 
Austin
Lakeland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,343.18
 
$675.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $22,093.75
 
$25,000.00
 

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pay 16.7% less for entertainment and sports

 
Austin
Lakeland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.00
 
$4.25
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.56
 
$4.87
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.00
 
$11.50
 

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pay 19.4% less for clothing

 
Austin
Lakeland
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.74
 
$42.50
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$43.79
 
$37.38
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.55
 
$73.50
 

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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 2026
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