Collier County, although higher on average than the state in total cost of living, compares favorably to most other metro markets in Florida. Collier County ranked highest in overall cost of living in 2007 according to research conducted on behalf of the Florida Department of Education, by the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
The study is conducted for all Florida counties, and for the state as whole.
The results are published once a year, and used to calibrate teacher pay across the state. The results however can be used to make estimates of the relative costs of living, as the weight of each product in the average is determined by the average household's consumption of that product.
For the 2007 year, the top ten most expensive, and the ten least expensive Counties are shown.
|
TEN MOST EXPENSIVE COUNTIES
|
TEN LEAST EXPENSIVE COUNTIES
|
|
Rank
|
County
|
Index
|
|
Rank
|
County
|
Index
|
|
1
|
Collier
|
106.50
|
|
67
|
Franklin
|
87.78
|
|
2
|
Palm Beach
|
104.50
|
|
66
|
Holmes
|
88.25
|
|
3
|
Broward
|
103.46
|
|
65
|
Madison
|
88.48
|
|
4
|
Hillsborough
|
102.10
|
|
64
|
Jackson
|
88.72
|
|
5
|
Lee
|
101.80
|
|
63
|
Calhoun
|
88.79
|
|
6
|
Miami-Dade
|
101.79
|
|
62
|
Taylor
|
88.85
|
|
7
|
Duval
|
101.74
|
|
61
|
Washington
|
89.25
|
|
8
|
Monroe
|
101.32
|
|
60
|
Liberty
|
89.40
|
|
9
|
Orange
|
101.20
|
|
59
|
Gulf
|
89.47
|
|
10
|
Pinellas
|
100.68
|
|
58
|
Lafayette
|
90.90
|
The number should be interpreted as an index in comparison with the State of Florida index of 100. For example, the cost of living of the average household in Collier County is 106.5 compared to the State of Florida average of 100.00. The cost of living is 6.5% higher in Collier County than the average of the State.
For more information on the Florida Price Level Index,
click here to download the complete report.