City housing comparison

Miami vs Tampa: Housing Costs Compared

Compare Miami, FL and Tampa, FL using 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year housing and income estimates.

Quick answer

Tampa has lower reported median rent

Median gross rent is $57 lower per month in Tampa. The income associated with a 30% rent target is $2,300 lower per year there.

This is a housing baseline, not an overall winner or a complete cost-of-living comparison.

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Compare housing costs using the same 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year definitions and calculations.

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Side-by-side data

Housing and income benchmarks

MetricMiamiTampa
Median gross rent$1,758/mo±$26 MOE$1,701/mo±$27 MOE
Income for 30% rent target$70,300±$1,000 derived MOE$68,000±$1,100 derived MOE
Median household income$62,462±$1,757 MOE$75,475±$1,872 MOE
Median home value$518,100±$19,775 MOE$420,400±$8,438 MOE
Home value-to-income8.3x5.6x
Owner-occupied homes31%50%

Decision signals

What the differences mean

01

Renting baseline

Tampa has $57 lower reported monthly median gross rent. Keeping that rent near 30% of gross income corresponds to $2,300 less annual household income than in Miami.

02

Household income context

Tampa reports $13,013 higher median household income. Citywide medians do not show an individual household's job offer, debt or family size.

03

Buying pressure

Tampa reports a $97,700 lower median home value. Tampa has the lower home value-to-income baseline by 2.7x. This does not include mortgage rates, taxes, insurance, maintenance or down payment requirements.

04

Ownership mix

Tampa has an owner-occupied share 19.5 percentage points higher. Ownership share describes occupied housing, not homes currently available for sale.

City guide

Miami, FL

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City guide

Tampa, FL

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Comparison questions

Which city has lower median rent?

Tampa has lower reported median gross rent by $57 per month in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.

Which city needs less income for the 30% rent benchmark?

Tampa has the lower reported annual income target by $2,300.

Does this compare total cost of living?

No. It compares housing, household income and ownership measures. Food, transportation, taxes, health care and live listings are outside the current scope.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates. Latest release checked Jul 11, 2026 at 11:49 UTC. Review the definitions and methodology.