Florida was at the top last year in cost of living increases mainly due to a 6.0% inflation rate. Rising fuel costs have been the catalyst for this, increasing 5.6% a quarter. Last year at this time gas backed down to under $3,00 a gallon. Fast forward one year and we are over $4.00 a gallon. But even more devastating to their standard of living is the 4.2% jump in food and beverage costs. The price of milk in some cities has risen as high as 4.9% per gallon. To make matters even worse Florida has a .6% sales tax. The average cost of a home in south Florida is $390,00 which is considerably higher than homes in the north which average around $240,00. Gas is back down to under $3,00 a gallon but not by much holding steady at around $2.90 a gallon. Electricity is currently 8.88 cents per kilo watt per hour. This is not too shabby compare to other major U.S.A cities. In Tampa rent ranges from about $740 to over $1,000 per month, depending on location. The average is $850 per month .Occupancy rates reached 98.1% in 2006. Tampa is one of the most highly occupied rental markets in Florida .Orlando's average is about $827, but ranges from about $700 to $1,100 per month. The median salary in Florida is $44,000. That's $35,000 for administrative office managers, $38,000 for store managers, $ 30,000 for administrative assistants, %55,00 for Software developers, and $59,000 for project managers. more Florida Cost Of Living statistics are available on my web site.
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_552071_19.html
