Long known for its condos, golf and no state income tax for active seniors, the state didn’t even make it into the top five best states for retirement. According to a recent report from Bankrate.
Florida remains No. 8 on Bankrate’s 2024 list, behind more affordable states like West Virginia, Georgia, Missouri and Mississippi. Lowest property tax rate The domestic home insurance premium is about 50% lower than the national averageCities with the highest percentage of residents aged 62 and over took the top spot.
“The rankings just tell us which places are the most affordable for retirees and have good health care at a reasonable cost,” said Alex Gary, chief data reporter at Bankrate, which compiled the list. “They also tell us whether those places score highly in terms of overall happiness and other factors.”
The list, compiled annually by Bankrate, ranks states based on five factors: affordability, overall happiness, cost and quality of healthcare, weather, and crime. While Florida still stands out in weather and happiness (ranked third on both), affordability made up 40% of the overall score, dropping it into the bottom half of the top 10.
Until recently, Florida had a reputation as a relatively low-cost paradise. Ranked top of Bankrate’s list of best states for retirementAdditionally, a 2023 analysis by SmartAsset revealed that four of the top 10 cities where baby boomers will retire are in Florida.
But that popularity may have upended the affordable living conditions that attracted so many retirees to Florida in the first place. During the pandemic, both young professionals and affluent Americans flocked to Florida, attracted by its low taxes and “open” approach to the coronavirus. From 2021 to 2022, Florida was the fastest-growing state in the country. According to the U.S. Census BureauThe state is also a tax haven for many well-known billionaires, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Citadel’s Ken Griffin.
Since 2013, Florida home prices have increased by nearly 160%, second only to Idaho in growth rate. According to a recent analysis of Construction Coverage.
It’s not just home prices that are beginning to offset the state’s tax breaks: As climate change makes natural disasters like hurricanes and floods more frequent, home insurance in Florida is becoming prohibitively expensive: The average premium for a $300,000 home is $5,533, more than any other state in the country. According to another analysis by Bankrate.
Bankrate’s list for 2024 shows that Florida isn’t even in the top half of states with the lowest cost of living in retirement. The state ranked 37th for cheapest cost of living, down two spots from last year.
Gary said luck Florida fell lower on the list because Bankrate changed its methodology in 2023 to factor in quality and cost of care, but she also said Florida is no longer a low-cost state in general: Rising home prices, insurance, real estate and sales taxes have made it less of an easy choice for people looking to relocate in retirement and perhaps those on a fixed income.
“At the end of the day, Florida is not as affordable as it used to be,” Gary says. “Unfortunately, retirees who want to move to Florida for its sunny winters, beaches and affordable health care may need to make sacrifices in other areas, primarily housing-related expenses like home and home insurance, and overall cost of living.”