Miami’s Rising Cost of Living
The Miami area’s cost of living surpassed that of New York, according to the most recent regional price comparison data available from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The report, which analyzes 2024 data, compares differences in “price levels across states and metropolitan areas” — though both regions had price levels above the national average, the Miami area beat New York in terms of overall expense.
Regional price parities, which the report uses to compare area price levels, have a national average set at 100. If an area’s RPP is 120, for instance, then price levels there are 20% higher than the U.S. average.
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan statistical area had an “all items RPP” of 114.155 — a value that includes all “consumption goods and services,” and also covers “housing rents.” The New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan statistical area, by contrast, had a lower “all items RPP” value of 112.563.
Fewer Miami-Dade Households Can Make Ends Meet
During the same year, thousands of Miami-Dade households were incapable of making ends meet, according to data provided by United Way.
According to the 2026 State of ALICE in Florida report, which analyzes data from 2024, 155,328 households in Miami-Dade County were considered to be in poverty, up from 145,803 in 2023. Additionally, 408,619 households met the requirements for ALICE, an increase from 381,666 the year prior — the acronym stands for “Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed.” It refers to “households that earn more than the federal poverty level, but less than the basic cost of living for the county.”
Forty-one percent of households in Miami-Dade County were ALICE households, compared to the state average of 34%. Fifteen percent were in poverty, compared to the state average of 12%.
Within the county, there was also significant variation among ZIP codes. For instance, the percentage of households below the ALICE threshold — which includes ALICE households and those in poverty — ranged from 83% in both ZIP code 33142, which serves parts of Brownsville, and ZIP code 33128, which encompasses parts of Downtown, to 15% in ZIP code 33158, which serves parts of Deering Bay.
A Household ‘Survival Budget’ Left Little Room to Breathe
United Way’s household survival budget “reflects the minimum cost to live and work in the current economy and includes housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, technology, and taxes.” It doesn’t include emergency savings or contributions to college or retirement. Household costs in “every county in Florida were well above the federal poverty level” in 2024, which is $15,060 for a single adult and $31,200 for a family of four.
In 2024 in Miami-Dade County, housing for a single adult cost $1,892 per month, food $549, transportation $424, healthcare $189, and that’s not an exhaustive list of necessities — the monthly total, factoring in additional expenses, came to $3,982. The hourly wage for a single adult was $23.89, according to United Way’s household survival budget for the region. For multiple adults with children, household, food and transportation costs all increased, with the added expenditure of child care.
Sarah Perkel is a South Florida Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Connect team.
