Miami vs. Los Angeles Cost of Living Summary

Miami is 5.6% cheaper than Los Angeles.

Restaurants
pay 6.3% more in Miami
Groceries
pay 1.3% more in Miami
Transportation
pay 10.2% less in Miami
Housing
pay 8.9% less in Miami
Childcare
pay 15.7% more in Miami
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.1% less in Miami
Clothing
pay 27.9% less in Miami

The cost of childcare, restaurants, and groceries in Miami are more expensive than in Los Angeles. Expenses including clothing, transportation, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Miami.

Miami vs. Los Angeles Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Miami instead of Los Angeles, you would:

pay 6.3% more for restaurants

 
Los Angeles
Miami
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $26.50
 
$30.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$15.00
 
$15.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.72
 
$3.47
 

Improve prices ·

pay 1.3% more for groceries

 
Los Angeles
Miami
Bread
1 loaf
$4.81
 
$4.53
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.75
 
$9.19
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.95
 
$5.15
 

Improve prices ·

pay 10.2% less for transportation

 
Los Angeles
Miami
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.97
 
$4.09
 
Monthly public transit pass $105.00
 
$112.50
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,998.00
 
$36,928.80
 

Improve prices ·

pay 8.9% less for housing

 
Los Angeles
Miami
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$80.07
 
$73.17
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,544.44
 
$2,765.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $2,413.33
 
$2,132.86
 

Improve prices ·

pay 15.7% more for childcare

 
Los Angeles
Miami
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,676.09
 
$1,801.46
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $32,155.00
 
$40,015.75
 

Improve prices ·

pay 3.1% less for entertainment and sports

 
Los Angeles
Miami
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $8.00
 
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.95
 
$5.85
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$13.00
 
$9.07
 

Improve prices ·

pay 27.9% less for clothing

 
Los Angeles
Miami
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$89.92
 
$51.18
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$64.92
 
$57.22
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$119.25
 
$100.00
 

Improve prices ·

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Share this

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 Miami or Los Angeles. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.