Here is the number most relocation sites leave out. The average wage in the Miami metro is below the national average, while the cost of living is above it. Wages run at $32.30 an hour against $33.54 nationally, and prices at 114 against a national 100. That gap is the single most important thing to understand before you move here, and it is why a salary that worked elsewhere may not work in the same way in Miami.
Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach metro, which covers Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
| Average hourly wageBLS OEWS, May 2025 | $32.30 |
|---|---|
| U.S. average hourly wageBLS OEWS, May 2025 | $33.54 |
| Median household incomeU.S. Census, ACS 2024 5-year | $76,527 |
| Per capita incomeU.S. Census, ACS 2024 5-year | $43,766 |
| UnemploymentU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024 | 2.9% |
| State income taxState of Florida | None. Florida levies no personal income tax. |
| Cost of livingBEA regional price parities, 2024 | 114 vs U.S. 100 |
|---|---|
| Median home valueU.S. Census, ACS 2024 5-year | $443,300 |
| Mean travel time to workU.S. Census, ACS 2024 5-year | 29.3 minutes |
| Persons below poverty lineU.S. Census, ACS 2024 5-year | 13.1% |
| Property taxMiami-Dade Property Appraiser, check the parcel | Set by each city and county, varies widely across the metro |
| Home insurance | Varies by address, roof age and flood zone; quote before you offer |
Mean hourly wages, a sample across the range.
| ManagementBLS OEWS, May 2025 | $66.15 / hour |
|---|---|
| Sales engineersBLS OEWS, May 2025 | $67.26 / hour |
| LegalBLS OEWS, May 2025 | $59.28 / hour |
| Technical & scientific sales repsBLS OEWS, May 2025 | $57.68 / hour |
| Retail salespersonsBLS OEWS, May 2025 | $17.70 / hour |
| Food preparation and servingBLS OEWS, May 2025 | $18.44 / hour |
| Building and grounds maintenanceBLS OEWS, May 2025 | $18.23 / hour |
| CashiersBLS OEWS, May 2025 | $15.63 / hour |
Florida levies no personal state income tax, and that is real money. It is also the part people over-weight, because it is the easiest number to picture.
What tends to offset it here is insurance and association dues. A condominium with high monthly dues, or a house with an older roof in a coastal flood zone, can absorb the income tax saving and more. Neither figure appears in a cost of living index, and both are knowable on a specific property before you commit.
The 114 cost of living figure is the BEA’s regional price parity, a broad basket measured across the whole metro. It does not capture what actually decides affordability on a given purchase: association dues, special assessments, flood insurance, wind mitigation, and property tax at the millage rate of the specific city rather than the county average.
Two apartments in the same building can carry different monthly costs. That is the level the decision is made at, not the metro level.
The wage figures above matter if you will be earning here. If you are keeping an out-of-state salary, a remote role, or retirement income, the wage side of the gap does not apply to you and only the cost side does, which is a materially different calculation, and often a favourable one.
The metro figures set the frame. They do not tell you whether a specific property works.
What we can do is take a property you are considering and put the real monthly number together: mortgage, property tax at that city’s actual rate, association dues, insurance quotes, and any assessment the building has coming. Then compare it against what you will be earning, or against what you are paying now.
Whether a home works as a purchase and whether it works as an investment are two different questions, and both get answered.
Tell us what you would be earning here, or what you are keeping from elsewhere, and what you are looking at. We’ll put the real monthly cost together with you.
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All figures are for the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach metropolitan area unless stated. They are updated on their publishers’ own schedules; verify anything decision-critical at the source.
