Miami’s affordability crisis goes beyond housing. These costs are rising, too

Housing costs have dominated the conversation about South Florida’s affordability crunch — but they’re only part of the picture. Groceries, healthcare premiums, childcare and student loan payments are also stretching household budgets across the region.

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Here are key takeaways:

• Nearly six in 10 Miami-metro-area residents rank the rising cost of living among their biggest barriers to progress, and about 35% said their top goal for the next year or two is to earn more money.
• Groceries topped the list of budget strains for 86% of cost-strained Miamians, with restaurant prices ballooning by nearly a third and grocery prices up about a quarter between 2020 and 2025.
• A cancer patient in Lake Worth Beach saw her monthly Affordable Care Act premium jump from $0.18 to nearly $142 after enhanced federal tax credits expired at the start of the year.
• The average cost of infant daycare in Miami-Dade has reached $13,560 a year — more than double the annual in-state tuition at any Florida state university, according to The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade.
• More than a half-million Floridians in default on federal student loans are at risk of having up to 15% of their post-tax paychecks garnished if the Department of Education decides to resume collections.
• More than a half-million Miami-Dade households — 56% of the county’s total — are living paycheck to paycheck, and just 31% of locals say it’s easier to make ends meet today than a year ago.

This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists.

Read more Miami’s affordability crisis goes beyond housing. These costs are rising, too