Fort Walton Beach, Florida Cost Of Living

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C+

Overall 4%

Goods & Services 6%

Housing 8%

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Fort Walton Beach	Florida	National
Cost of living	96	99	100
Goods & Services	95	98	100
Groceries	96	106	100
Health care	94	99	100
Housing	92	96	100
Transportation	95	99	100
Utilities	120	105	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Fort Walton Beach is 3% lower than the Florida average
The cost of living in Fort Walton Beach is 4% lower than the national average
Fort Walton Beach housing is 8% lower than the national average
Florida general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Florida state income tax is 100% lower than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$66,830	$5,569	$1,559	$2,005
Renters	$31,710	$2,643	$740	$951

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Fort Walton Beach, FL, as well as the overall cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for homeowners or renters should be not more than 28 percent of gross income to be spent on housing related costs and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses, including debts. The median income for Fort Walton Beach homeowners, is $66,830. This would allow for a maximum of $1,559 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $31,710 which would result in a maximum of $740 to be spent on rental costs.

Florida Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Florida	6%	7.5%

Florida Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Florida	0%	0%

Goods & Services

Item	Fort Walton Beach	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$22.33	$20.27	10.2%
Beauty Salon	$41.11	$40.39	1.8%
Toothpaste	$2.57	$2.36	9.1%
Shampoo	$0.88	$1.08	18.2%
Movie	$11.31	$10.99	2.9%
Bowling	$12.61	$15.49	18.6%

Groceries

Item	Fort Walton Beach	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.79	$4.30	11.4%
Fried Chicken	$1.36	$1.40	2.8%
Milk	$3.45	$2.20	56.6%
Potatoes	$4.47	$3.22	38.7%
Pizza	$10.62	$10.74	1.1%
Beer	$9.85	$9.60	2.6%

Health Care

Item	Fort Walton Beach	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$70.41	$109.73	35.8%
Doctor	$94.42	$118.34	20.2%
Dentist	$99.60	$100.94	1.3%
Ibuprofen	$11.97	$9.93	20.5%
Lipitor	$493.34	$469.53	5.1%

Housing

Item	Fort Walton Beach	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$164,100.00	$184,700.00	11.2%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,068.84	$1,229.62	13.1%
Apartment Rent	$941.00	$949.00	0.8%

Transportation

Item	Fort Walton Beach	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.86	$2.71	5.6%
Tire Balancing	$40.98	$51.86	21.0%

Utilities

Item	Fort Walton Beach	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$226.81	$170.84	32.8%
Phone	$192.15	$187.18	2.7%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Ocean City, FL	6,305	96	4.2%
Wright, FL	23,382	96	3.9%
Mary Esther, FL	4,177	97	2.6%
Niceville, FL	14,325	101	1.2%
Valparaiso, FL	5,084	101	1.2%
Fort Walton Beach, FL	21,238	96	3.5%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Hutto, TX	21,241	92	7.8%
Orchards, WA	21,249	111	11.2%
Winter Gardens, CA	21,255	131	30.5%
Charleston, IL	21,257	89	11.5%
Decatur, GA	21,210	124	24.0%
Fort Walton Beach, FL	21,238	96	3.5%

Source: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.