Overall
114.2
Expensive
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Cost-of-living indicators for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 114.2
- Overall RPP
- #2
- of 387 metros
- 155.6
- Rents RPP
- $88K
- $100K national buys
Miami ranks #2 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has risen 7.7 points since 2008.
- rising since 2008
- similar cost to Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
The verdict
Miami is more expensive than 99% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 114.2, 14.2% above the national average, led by rents at 155.6.
- top 1%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 103.6
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 97.2
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $87,600 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $114,155.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending upward, increasing by 7.7 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2024, when the index jumped 2.1 points from the year before.
Miami overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 106.5 |
| 2009 | 106.0 |
| 2010 | 105.3 |
| 2011 | 106.7 |
| 2012 | 107.5 |
| 2013 | 106.7 |
| 2014 | 105.9 |
| 2015 | 107.3 |
| 2016 | 107.9 |
| 2017 | 108.3 |
| 2018 | 109.5 |
| 2019 | 108.6 |
| 2020 | 109.5 |
| 2021 | 110.0 |
| 2022 | 111.9 |
| 2023 | 112.1 |
| 2024 | 114.2 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Miami's overall RPP rose +2.1 points, from 112.1 in 2023 to 114.2 in 2024. The largest category movement was overall cost, changing from 112.1 to 114.2. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$114,155
in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$57,078
$75,000 nationally
$85,616
$125,000 nationally
$142,694
$150,000 nationally
$171,233
$200,000 nationally
$228,310
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
2/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
2nd percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Miami vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
114 Top 1% higher than 99% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Miami cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
155.6 RPP
- Services
Services
97.2 RPP
- Overall
Overall
114.2 RPP
- Goods
Goods
103.6 RPP
What this shows Miami's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 155.6 depart furthest from 100, while goods sits at 103.6. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Miami's cost comes from
Metros near Miami's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Miami (Miami, this metro): goods RPP 103.6, rents RPP 155.6
- Los Angeles: goods RPP 106.6, rents RPP 170.4
- San Francisco: goods RPP 108.5, rents RPP 194.7
- New York: goods RPP 110.3, rents RPP 148.6
- Napa: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 197.4
- San Diego: goods RPP 108, rents RPP 179.3
- Seattle: goods RPP 104, rents RPP 151.3
Price Index Summary
Goods
103.6
Above avg
Services
97.2
Below avg
Rents
155.6
Expensive
Housing-led cost profile
How Miami's cost structure works
Housing is the defining pressure in Miami: rents index at 155.6, the furthest component above the national benchmark. The overall index of 114.2 places Miami in the top 1% by cost; the rent line explains why a similar headline RPP can still require a different housing budget.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO. They resemble Miami across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Miami's overall index has risen by 7.7 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
FL-relative analysis
Goods prices is Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL's strongest outlier among FL metros
Among the 22 FL metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL ranks #1 - the 95th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 22
95th percentile in FL
Services prices
#1 of 22
95th percentile in FL
Rent prices
#1 of 22
95th percentile in FL
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within FL only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (114.2 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (155.6 here).
Boulder, CO Rents 157.0 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Rents 151.4 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Rents 151.3 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Rents 151.1 Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area Rents 150.5 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Rents 148.4 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Rents 146.9 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA Rents 164.3
Other FL Metros
Naples-Marco Island, FL 103.2 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 102.4 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 102.3 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 101.4 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 100.9 Punta Gorda, FL 100.5
View all FL metros → Cheapest in FL → Most expensive in FL →
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL's index of 114.2.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Miami's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Goods 104.0 · Services 92.8 · Rents 151.3 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Goods 104.8 · Services 106.7 · Rents 151.1 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
Goods 101.0 · Services 87.9 · Rents 146.9 Boulder, CO
Goods 96.1 · Services 82.7 · Rents 157.0 Trenton-Princeton, NJ
Goods 99.8 · Services 112.3 · Rents 135.1 Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA
Goods 105.0 · Services 92.0 · Rents 129.6
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Compare to Other Metros
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
What this means for Miami
How to read Miami's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $87,600 in Miami. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 155.6, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Miami head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL?
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 114.2, meaning it is 14.2% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 103.6, services at 97.2, and rents at 155.6. It ranks #2 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $114,155 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL. Conversely, $100K earned in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL has the purchasing power of $87,600 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL?
Rents in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL are indexed at 155.6, which is 55.6% above the national average. This is significantly higher than typical U.S. rents.
Is Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL's overall cost index changed by +7.7 points (from 106.5 to 114.2). The cost of living has been trending upward.
What costs the most in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL?
The priciest category in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL is rents at 155.6, 55.6% above the national average. The most affordable category is services at 97.2, 2.8% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, New York-Newark-Jersey City. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL's 114.2.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.