Cost of living comparison

compared to

Tampa vs. Austin Cost of Living Summary

Tampa is 6.0% more expensive than Austin.

Restaurants
pay 12.5% more in Tampa
Groceries
pay 14.0% more in Tampa
Transportation
pay 31.1% more in Tampa
Housing
pay 11.1% more in Tampa
Childcare
pay 19.7% less in Tampa
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.8% less in Tampa
Clothing
pay 1.8% more in Tampa

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

Tampa vs. Austin Cost Breakdown

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

pay 12.5% more for restaurants

 
Austin
Tampa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.00
 
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.00
 
$13.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.67
 
$2.98
 

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pay 14.0% more for groceries

 
Austin
Tampa
Bread
1 loaf
$3.40
 
$4.06
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.17
 
$7.15
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.93
 
$4.66
 

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pay 31.1% more for transportation

 
Austin
Tampa
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.79
 
$3.35
 
Monthly public transit pass $41.38
 
$80.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $27,900.00
 
$36,050.00
 

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pay 11.1% more for housing

 
Austin
Tampa
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$68.20
 
$70.88
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,134.75
 
$2,112.68
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,434.41
 
$1,612.18
 

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pay 19.7% less for childcare

 
Austin
Tampa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,343.18
 
$1,281.67
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $22,093.75
 
$14,400.00
 

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pay 8.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
Austin
Tampa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.00
 
$7.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.56
 
$5.78
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.00
 
$8.00
 

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pay 1.8% more for clothing

 
Austin
Tampa
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.74
 
$56.43
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$43.79
 
$37.33
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.55
 
$92.12
 

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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: December 2025
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