Sarasota vs. Austin Cost of Living Summary

Sarasota is 2.7% more expensive than Austin.

Restaurants
pay 6.4% more in Sarasota
Groceries
pay 1.5% more in Sarasota
Transportation
pay 2.3% more in Sarasota
Housing
pay 6.7% more in Sarasota
Childcare
pay 32.7% less in Sarasota
Entertainment and Sports
pay 7.8% less in Sarasota
Clothing
pay 28.6% more in Sarasota

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

Sarasota vs. Austin Cost Breakdown

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

pay 6.4% more for restaurants

 
Austin
Sarasota
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.50
 
$27.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.25
 
$11.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.71
 
$3.25
 

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pay 1.5% more for groceries

 
Austin
Sarasota
Bread
1 loaf
$3.67
 
$4.02
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.47
 
$4.82
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.34
 
$4.02
 

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pay 2.3% more for transportation

 
Austin
Sarasota
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.66
 
$3.76
 
Monthly public transit pass $41.25
 
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,232.00
 
$36,928.80
 

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pay 6.7% more for housing

 
Austin
Sarasota
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$69.88
 
$81.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,924.00
 
$2,175.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,290.83
 
$1,608.00
 

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pay 32.7% less for childcare

 
Austin
Sarasota
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,506.17
 
$861.50
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $21,190.62
 
$16,792.50
 

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pay 7.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
Austin
Sarasota
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $8.00
 
$5.50
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.58
 
$4.62
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$10.00
 
$9.07
 

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pay 28.6% more for clothing

 
Austin
Sarasota
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.20
 
$63.75
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$43.56
 
$49.75
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$86.40
 
$113.75
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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