Cost of living comparison
compared to
Detroit vs. Fort Lauderdale Cost of Living Summary
Detroit is 8.1% cheaper than Fort Lauderdale.
- Restaurants
-
pay 15.0% less in Detroit
- Groceries
-
pay 13.9% less in Detroit
- Transportation
-
pay 0.2% less in Detroit
- Housing
-
pay 17.5% less in Detroit
- Childcare
-
pay 1.9% more in Detroit
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 11.0% less in Detroit
- Clothing
-
pay 0.7% less in Detroit
Expenses including housing, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, clothing, and transportation are lower in Detroit.
Detroit vs. Fort Lauderdale Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Detroit instead of Fort Lauderdale, you would:
pay 15.0% less for restaurants
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.98
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$2.59
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
|
$1.82
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Detroit - Cost of restaurants
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 13.9% less for groceries
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.48
|
$3.38
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.26
|
$6.06
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.68
|
$3.58
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.37
|
$3.58
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.68
|
$5.25
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.82
|
$2.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.25
|
$2.65
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.54
|
$2.80
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.41
|
$0.98
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.73
|
$1.13
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Detroit - Cost of groceries
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 0.2% less for transportation
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.26
|
$3.40
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.50
|
$66.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,003.00
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.93
|
$13.68
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Detroit - Cost of transportation
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 17.5% less for housing
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.00
|
$52.14
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,380.22
|
$1,450.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,983.11
|
$1,058.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$136.01
|
$192.03
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Detroit - Cost of housing
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 1.9% more for childcare
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$816.67
|
$1,294.79
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$37,150.00
|
$16,800.00
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Detroit - Cost of childcare
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 11.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.14
|
$4.86
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.50
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$72.00
|
$43.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.50
|
$12.50
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Detroit - Cost of entertainment and sports
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 0.7% less for clothing
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.50
|
$59.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.75
|
$31.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.33
|
$97.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$111.25
|
$109.00
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. Detroit - Cost of clothing
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
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
Change currency:
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Detroit or Fort Lauderdale. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.