Cost of living comparison
compared to
Dallas vs. Fort Lauderdale Cost of Living Summary
Dallas is 1.5% more expensive than Fort Lauderdale.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.1% less in Dallas
- Groceries
-
pay 10.4% less in Dallas
- Transportation
-
pay 12.4% more in Dallas
- Housing
-
pay 6.1% less in Dallas
- Childcare
-
pay 3.3% more in Dallas
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.6% less in Dallas
- Clothing
-
pay 16.3% more in Dallas
The cost of clothing, transportation, and childcare in Dallas are more expensive than in Fort Lauderdale. Expenses including groceries, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Dallas.
Dallas vs. Fort Lauderdale Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Dallas instead of Fort Lauderdale, you would:
pay 4.1% less for restaurants
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Dallas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.98
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$2.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
|
$2.25
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Dallas - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.4% less for groceries
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Dallas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.48
|
$3.71
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.26
|
$6.58
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.68
|
$3.63
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.37
|
$4.85
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.68
|
$5.88
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.82
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.69
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.25
|
$2.03
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.54
|
$1.77
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.41
|
$1.05
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.73
|
$1.42
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Dallas - Cost of groceries
pay 12.4% more for transportation
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Dallas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.26
|
$3.05
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.50
|
$94.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,003.00
|
$36,755.39
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.93
|
$16.92
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Dallas - Cost of transportation
pay 6.1% less for housing
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Dallas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.00
|
$71.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,380.22
|
$1,669.75
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,983.11
|
$1,536.04
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$136.01
|
$170.25
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Dallas - Cost of housing
pay 3.3% more for childcare
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Dallas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$816.67
|
$1,151.88
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$37,150.00
|
$24,380.00
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Dallas - Cost of childcare
pay 0.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Dallas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.14
|
$5.63
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.50
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$72.00
|
$45.12
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.50
|
$14.75
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Dallas - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.3% more for clothing
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Dallas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.50
|
$55.69
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.75
|
$48.92
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.33
|
$110.63
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$111.25
|
$130.88
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Dallas - 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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