See Why These Florida Cities Have the Highest and Lowest Cost of Living in 2024
Written by
John Csiszar
Edited by
Elizabeth Constantineau
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As anyone who has lived or visited there can attest, Florida is a big state. Stretching from a panhandle that nearly touches Mobile, Alabama down to an archipelago that is only 90 miles from Cuba, Florida boasts a wide variety of regions and lifestyles. It is this very same diversity that allows part of the state to be quite inexpensive while other areas are on the pricier end.
To discover which cities in Florida had the highest and lowest cost of living so far in 2024, GOBankingRates reviewed data from Sperlings BestPlaces and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Two cities ended up being outliers in the study, Key Largo and Alford. Here’s a closer look at how expenses break down in these cities across a variety of metrics.
Key Largo, FL
- Overall cost of living: 148.2
- Grocery index: 114.4
- Transportation index: 91
- Utilities index: 97.2
- Housing index: 256.6
- Miscellaneous costs index: 108.9
- Population: 12,021
- Livability index: 73
Key Largo is without a doubt one of the most beautiful areas in all of Florida, even in all of the country. As the first island in the long archipelago dubbed the Florida Keys, Key Largo is a popular stop for those on their way to the southernmost point in the United States in Key West.
For both tourists and residents, however, Key Largo has plenty to offer. The island obviously boasts a wide range of water-based activities, from scuba diving and snorkeling to eco-tours, beaches, sport fishing, dolphin encounter programs and even an underwater hotel, according to the official website of the Florida Keys.
If you fall in love with Key Largo and intend to live there, however, you should be aware that you’re dropping into the city with the highest cost of living so far in 2024. The small community of just over 12,000 residents has a cost of living nearly 50% above the national average, with the biggest culprit being housing costs. According to Zillow, the average home in Key Largo costs $1,130,852, more than 3x the national average.
Groceries and miscellaneous costs are also above the national average, by 14.4% and 8.9%, respectively, meaning it’s hard to avoid extra expenses while living in Key Largo. However, some costs, including transportation and utilities, do run below the national average, and the city’s healthy 73 livability index confirms that Key Largo can be a great place to live.
Alford, FL
- Overall cost of living: 77.1
- Grocery index: 94.6
- Transportation index: 79.2
- Utilities index: 110.3
- Housing index: 49.6
- Miscellaneous costs index: 74
- Population: 432
- Livability index: 59
On the other end of the spectrum in Florida is tiny Alford, with a population of just 432 residents. The panhandle town lying about one hour west of the state’s capital, Tallahassee, sports a cost of living 23% below the national average, and some of its costs seem almost ridiculously low.
The city’s housing index is 49.6, meaning costs run more than 50% below the national average. This is confirmed by data from Zillow, which reports an average home price in Alford of just $204,516. With the exception of utilities, which run 10% above the national average, residents of Alford pay less than the national average for groceries, transportation, housing and miscellaneous costs — and in some cases, much less. Transportation and miscellaneous costs, for example, run 21% and 26% below national norms.
Before you run out and start looking for real estate in Alford — which might even be hard to do, given the town’s small population — there are some drawbacks. For starters, Alford only has a livability index of 59, and it gets “F” scores from AreaVibes in a number of areas, from amenities and employment to commutes and schools. Crime and health receive scores of “D+.”
However, if you’re looking to live on the cheap in the Florida panhandle, Alford has a great location and a small-town feel, in addition to having the lowest overall costs in the state as of May 2024.
Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed 6,300 cities across the United States to find the cheapest and most expensive in each state. First, GOBankingRates found the cost-of-living indexes as sourced from Sperlings BestPlaces. By using the national average expenditure costs for all residents, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average expenditure cost was calculated for each city. The total population was sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, and the livability index was sourced from AreaVibes. All data was collected on and is up-to-date as of May 21, 2024.
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