Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. Fort Lauderdale Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 20.6% more expensive than Fort Lauderdale.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.6% more in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 0.2% more in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 17.5% more in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 31.0% more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 45.8% more in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 19.4% more in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 22.0% more in San Diego
The cost of childcare, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and restaurants in San Diego are more expensive than in Fort Lauderdale.
San Diego vs. Fort Lauderdale Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of Fort Lauderdale, you would:
pay 8.6% more for restaurants
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.98
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
|
$2.50
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.2% more for groceries
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.48
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.26
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.68
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.37
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.68
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.82
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.25
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.54
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.41
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.73
|
$1.12
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 17.5% more for transportation
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.26
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.50
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,003.00
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.93
|
$19.40
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 31.0% more for housing
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.00
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,380.22
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,983.11
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$136.01
|
$205.84
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 45.8% more for childcare
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$816.67
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$37,150.00
|
$28,750.00
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 19.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.14
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.50
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$72.00
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.50
|
$17.50
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.0% more for clothing
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.50
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.75
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.33
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$111.25
|
$126.25
|
|
Fort Lauderdale vs. San Diego - 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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