Cost of living comparison
compared to
Fort Lauderdale vs. District of Columbia Cost of Living Summary
Fort Lauderdale is 15.5% cheaper than District of Columbia.
- Restaurants
-
pay 11.5% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Groceries
-
pay 6.8% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Transportation
-
pay 7.9% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Housing
-
pay 4.7% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Childcare
-
pay 38.4% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 20.8% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Clothing
-
pay 18.5% less in Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale vs. District of Columbia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Fort Lauderdale instead of District of Columbia, you would:
pay 11.5% less for restaurants
|
District of Columbia
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.04
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.8% less for groceries
|
District of Columbia
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$4.48
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$8.26
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.68
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$4.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$4.68
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.82
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.25
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.54
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.41
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.73
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of groceries
pay 7.9% less for transportation
|
District of Columbia
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.26
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$72.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$29,003.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$16.93
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of transportation
pay 4.7% less for housing
|
District of Columbia
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$70.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$2,380.22
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,983.11
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$136.01
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of housing
pay 38.4% less for childcare
|
District of Columbia
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$816.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$37,150.00
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of childcare
pay 20.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
District of Columbia
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.14
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$10.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$72.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$16.50
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.5% less for clothing
|
District of Columbia
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$47.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$93.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$111.25
|
|
District of Columbia 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: June 2026
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