Cost of living comparison
compared to
Fort Lauderdale vs. Chicago Cost of Living Summary
Fort Lauderdale is 7.9% cheaper than Chicago.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.4% more in Fort Lauderdale
- Groceries
-
pay 8.6% more in Fort Lauderdale
- Transportation
-
pay 4.8% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Housing
-
pay 4.5% more in Fort Lauderdale
- Childcare
-
pay 32.6% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 16.4% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Clothing
-
pay 17.1% less in Fort Lauderdale
The cost of groceries, housing, and restaurants in Fort Lauderdale are more expensive than in Chicago. Expenses including childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Fort Lauderdale.
Fort Lauderdale vs. Chicago Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Fort Lauderdale instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 2.4% more for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$2.04
|
|
Chicago vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.6% more for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.01
|
$4.48
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.05
|
$8.26
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.30
|
$3.68
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
|
$4.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.55
|
$4.68
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$2.82
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$2.25
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$2.54
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$1.41
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$1.73
|
|
Chicago vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of groceries
pay 4.8% less for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.81
|
$3.26
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$72.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,691.85
|
$29,003.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$16.93
|
|
Chicago vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of transportation
pay 4.5% more for housing
|
Chicago
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.83
|
$70.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,418.00
|
$2,380.22
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,692.50
|
$1,983.11
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$141.41
|
$136.01
|
|
Chicago vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of housing
pay 32.6% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,050.00
|
$816.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,114.29
|
$37,150.00
|
|
Chicago vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of childcare
pay 16.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.53
|
$5.14
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$10.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.80
|
$72.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$16.50
|
|
Chicago vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 17.1% less for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.24
|
$47.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.62
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.48
|
$93.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.50
|
$111.25
|
|
Chicago vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of clothing
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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