We all know that living in Miami is expensive, but a recent Bloomberg report reveals just how high prices have climbed: for the first time, the Miami metropolitan area’s cost of living has surpassed that of greater New York City.
Based on the latest annual price-comparison from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the financial incentive of relocating to South Florida has dramatically changed. Despite lower taxes and year-round warmth, the region’s surging expenses are wiping out those savings.
According to the data, South Florida’s consumer price index has jumped 36% since 2019, more than any other metropolitan area tracked by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics with the exception of Tampa. What’s more, restaurant spending, private-school tuition and insurance costs are higher than they were a year ago.
The report points out that the total cost of housing in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Palm Beach area is now about 5% higher than in New York and its suburbs, which includes New Jersey. And local salaries haven’t been adjusted to match these soaring costs. The typical household income in the Miami metro area sits at about $1,000 below the national median.
Bloomberg adds that the average lawyer in the New York City area earned roughly $51,000 more last year than one in Miami.
The city’s home prices have also climbed 79% since the pandemic, according to S&P Case-Shiller data, and property taxes in the area have increased 62% since 2019 — more than double the national average, according to real estate data firm Attom.
Regarding insurance, add in the fact that Florida homeowners pay the highest premiums in the nation thanks to major hurricanes in the last decade and flooding even on sunny days. The average insurance premium sits at nearly $8,300 annually, about four times what New Yorkers are paying, and prices are only going up.
You can read the full Bloomberg report here.
