Cost of living comparison
compared to
Fort Lauderdale vs. San Diego Cost of Living Summary
Fort Lauderdale is 11.5% cheaper than San Diego.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.5% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Groceries
-
pay 4.5% more in Fort Lauderdale
- Transportation
-
pay 13.2% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Housing
-
pay 23.0% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Childcare
-
pay 12.0% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.0% less in Fort Lauderdale
- Clothing
-
pay 17.6% less in Fort Lauderdale
Expenses including housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, childcare, and restaurants are lower in Fort Lauderdale.
Fort Lauderdale vs. San Diego Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Fort Lauderdale instead of San Diego, you would:
pay 5.5% less for restaurants
|
San Diego
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$11.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.03
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$2.04
|
|
San Diego vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.5% more for groceries
|
San Diego
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.57
|
$4.48
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.36
|
$8.26
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$3.68
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.84
|
$4.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.07
|
$4.68
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$2.82
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$2.25
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.26
|
$2.54
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.42
|
$1.41
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$1.73
|
|
San Diego vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of groceries
pay 13.2% less for transportation
|
San Diego
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$3.26
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.00
|
$72.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$29,003.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.40
|
$16.93
|
|
San Diego vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of transportation
pay 23.0% less for housing
|
San Diego
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$82.19
|
$70.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,033.00
|
$2,380.22
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.64
|
$1,983.11
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$205.84
|
$136.01
|
|
San Diego vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of housing
pay 12.0% less for childcare
|
San Diego
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,750.00
|
$816.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,750.00
|
$37,150.00
|
|
San Diego vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of childcare
pay 14.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Diego
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.90
|
$5.14
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$73.21
|
$72.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.50
|
$16.50
|
|
San Diego vs. Fort Lauderdale - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 17.6% less for clothing
|
San Diego
|
Fort Lauderdale
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.72
|
$47.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$58.44
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.68
|
$93.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$126.25
|
$111.25
|
|
San Diego 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: December 2025
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