What does it cost to live in Miami, FL? Based on 7 federal sources (BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026, EIA energy prices, IRS/state tax), a single adult's modeled annual budget is $60,459 and a family of four's is $101,794 (2025).
Applies to the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metropolitan area.
Category
Index (U.S. = 100)
vs U.S.
All items
114.2
+14.2%
Goods
103.6
+3.6%
Rents
155.6
+55.6%
Utilities
97.2
−2.8%
Other services
109.1
+9.1%
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 · Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro area · methodology →
ACS 5-Year 2020–2024
Owner costs.
Owner cost & property tax — place-grain from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Median monthly selected owner costs (SMOC) cover mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, utilities, and condo fees where applicable; real-estate taxes paid is the median property-tax bill for owner-occupied units.
Utility prices in Florida — applies to Florida statewide (electricity and natural gas) or its PADD region (gasoline). Residential rates are state averages, not what any specific household pays.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) · state-grain · methodology →
Census Gov Finances FY2022
State tax burden.
Tax burden in Florida — combined state + local taxes per capita, from the U.S. Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (FY2022). Population denominator: Census PEP 2022 state estimate. State-grain only; this is revenue divided by people, not a household tax bill. "vs U.S. state average" compares one state to the unweighted mean across all 51 states + DC.
Measure
Value
vs U.S. state average
Total state + local taxes per capita
$4,883
6,836 avg · -29%
Property taxes per capita
$1,675
1,886 avg · -11%
Sales & gross receipts taxes per capita
$2,517
2,255 avg · +12%
Individual income taxes per capita
$0
no state wage income tax
Corporate income taxes per capita
$170
393 avg · -57%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances · FY2022 · state-grain · methodology →
State Income Tax TY2025
State income tax.
Measure
Value
Note
Top state income tax rate (single filer)
0%
no state wage income tax
Effective state income tax at $75k (single)
0%
no state wage income tax
Source: Florida Department of Revenue · TY2025 · state-grain · methodology →
Tax Foundation TY2025
State + local sales tax.
Measure
Rate
Note
State sales tax rate
6.00%
statutory state rate · TY2025
Avg local sales tax rate
1.00%
population-weighted state average · Tax Foundation TY2025
Combined sales tax rate
7.00%
state + avg local · TY2025
Sales tax: state-grain. The "average local rate" is Tax Foundation's population-weighted state-average; actual local rates vary by city, county, and special taxing district. Selective sales taxes (hotels, meals, car rentals) and excise taxes (gasoline, tobacco, alcohol) are excluded.
Source: Tax Foundation · state statutes · TY2025 · methodology →
USDA Food Plans + Food Atlas
Food and grocery access.
Food and grocery access. USDA national food-cost reference plus USDA Food Environment Atlas county-level food access. National plan values are not adjusted for local prices.
Measure
Value
Grain / source
Thrifty Food Plan, family of 4
$996/mo
national reference, USDA CNPP
Moderate-Cost Plan, family of 4
$1,341/mo
national reference, USDA CNPP
Liberal Plan, family of 4
$1,619/mo
national reference, USDA CNPP
Grocery stores per 1,000 pop
0.24
county-grain, USDA ERS Atlas 2020
Low food-access population share
6.1%
county-grain, USDA ERS Atlas 2019
SNAP participation rate
12.7%
county-grain, USDA ERS Atlas 2022
Food Atlas county: Miami-Dade County, FL. USDA Food Plans observation: July 2025. Alaska and Hawaii shoppers should expect substantially higher prices than the national figure. See food methodology.
Monthly Household Budget Benchmark
Household budget.
Monthly Household Budget Benchmark — estimated monthly cost of basic needs, composed from federal public-domain sources. Two compositions: single adult (1BR rental) and family of four, two adults working, two children ages 4 and 8 (3BR rental). Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite index. Methodology informed by the MIT Living Wage Calculator and EPI Family Budget Calculator; figures independently computed from primary federal sources.
Single adult · 1BR rental
Component
Monthly
Grain / source
Housing (1BR rental)
$1,560/mo
HUD SAFMR FY2026, ZIP 33128
Food
$328/mo
national, USDA Low-Cost Plan 2025, state price-adjusted
Transportation
$1,149/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Healthcare (out-of-pocket)
$204/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Internet + cellular
$122/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024 (no sub-state federal source for ISP price)
Other necessities
$516/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Civic engagement
$340/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Taxes (federal + FICA + state)
$820/mo
TY2025, iteratively solved
Total monthly
$5,038/mo
mixed grain
Total annual
$60,459/yr
mixed grain
Gross income required (pre-tax)
$60,459/yr
mixed grain, TY2025 tax solver
Single adult, no dependents, single filing status.
Family of four · 3BR rental
Two adults working, two children (ages 4 and 8). Married Filing Jointly.
Component
Monthly
Grain / source
Housing (3BR rental)
$2,460/mo
HUD SAFMR FY2026, ZIP 33128, 3BR
Food
$1,242/mo
national, USDA Family-of-4 Plan 2025, state price-adjusted
national, BLS CEX 2024 (no sub-state federal source for ISP price)
Other necessities
$516/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Civic engagement
$340/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Taxes (federal + FICA + state, MFJ)
$961/mo
TY2025, iteratively solved, MFJ + EITC + CTC
Total monthly
$8,483/mo
mixed grain
Total annual
$101,794/yr
mixed grain
Gross income required (pre-tax, combined)
$101,794/yr
mixed grain, TY2025 MFJ solver
Includes CTC $4,400/yr (TY2025 federal credits, MFJ).
Note: USDA family-of-4 food plan uses children ages 6–8 and 9–11; childcare modeled at ages 4 and 8. Small ~5% age-band inconsistency documented in methodology.
Component grains range from ZIP or county (housing, per HUD SAFMR/FMR coverage) to national (CEX-based rows adjusted to state price level via BEA Regional Price Parities). Childcare: county-grain DOL NDCP 2022, inflated by BLS CPI Child Care subindex (factor 1.2293, Jan 2022 → Apr 2026). Local income tax modeled for ~3,100+ jurisdictions in 16 states. Not a recommended salary; not a poverty threshold; components are not weighted into a composite score. See household budget methodology, family-of-four methodology, and local income tax methodology.
Methodology
How these figures are computed.
Every figure on this page comes from a primary federal source. No composite index is produced; figures are presented per-component with grain labels so readers can trace each number to its source.
BEA Regional Price Parities → — Bureau of Economic Analysis RPP 2024, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro area.
ACS owner costs → — American Community Survey 5-Year 2020–2024 tables B25088 (SMOC) and B25103 (real-estate taxes).
EIA energy prices → — U.S. Energy Information Administration state residential electricity, natural gas, and PADD-region gasoline.
State tax burden → — U.S. Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances FY2022.
State income tax → — Florida Department of Revenue rate schedule TY2025.
Sales tax → — Tax Foundation state + average local combined rate study TY2025.
Food plans → — USDA CNPP Cost of Food Plans and USDA ERS Food Environment Atlas county-grain access data.
Single-adult budget → — F1 composite from HUD FMR/SAFMR, BLS CEX, BEA RPP, USDA CNPP, IRS rev. proc., and state + local income tax.
