Cost of Living in Florida: A Guide for Homebuyers

Published on January 10th, 2024
9 min read

Richard Haddad Managing Editor
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Richard Haddad Managing Editor

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Richard Haddad is the managing editor of HomeLight.com. He works with an experienced content team that oversees the company’s blog featuring in-depth articles about the home buying and selling process, homeownership news, home care and design tips, and related real estate trends. Previously, he served as an editor and content producer for World Company, Gannett, and Western News & Info, where he also served as news director and director of internet operations.

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If you’re considering a move to Florida, understanding the cost of living in the Sunshine State can help you make plans with more confidence.

In this guide, we break down what makes up the cost of living in Florida, from housing expenses to food and healthcare costs. We’ll provide data from state cost of living index tools and how Florida ranks in the nation for livability.

We’ll also share a handy set of additional online resources that you can use to measure and compare cost of living expenses in different Florida communities.

What makes up the ‘cost of living’ in Florida?

When you’re planning to live in a new state, the cost of living there will be a combination of expenses required to maintain your desired lifestyle. Statista a leading market data platform, defines “cost of living” as “the monetary cost of goods and services necessary to maintaining a certain standard of living.”

This overall cost will vary significantly based on location, even within the state. But the basic living expenses you’ll pay for typically include the following categories:

Housing (rent/mortgage)
Energy (utilities)
Food (groceries)
Transportation (vehicles or transit systems)
Healthcare (doctors, hospitals, etc.)

However, the costs often extend beyond these basics to cover other expenses, such as:

Clothing
Education
Childcare
Entertainment

These elements, when combined, establish the core costs associated with a particular way of living. However, the standard of living you achieve is largely influenced by your income and debts, and how the dollar amounts compare to the costs of basic needs in the Florida city where you live — or want to live.

Let’s take a quick look at some ways you can compare the cost of living you have now with what you might experience if you move to Florida.

What’s a Florida cost of living index (CLI)?

A cost of living index (CLI) monitors how much these basic expenses go up or down over time in different cities or regions. They provide a way for you to compare the price of maintaining a certain standard of living.

The CLI is calculated by assessing the price of essential goods and services such as housing, food, healthcare, and transportation in different areas.

An index is typically standardized, with a base city or region being assigned a baseline index value (often set at 100). Other cities or regions are then compared against this benchmark. For example, a Florida or city with a CLI of 120 would signify that living there is 20% more expensive than the base location, while an index of 80 indicates it’s 20% less expensive.

A cost of living index will typically break down and score each basic expense by category. Here are separate scores for Florida from the worldpopulationreview.com Cost of Living Index:

Groceries: 100.10
Housing: 110.50
Utilities: 96.70
Transportation: 99.80
Health: 96.30
Miscellaneous: 99.40

A house that you can buy in Florida at the best time.

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Florida, near a cheap house you can buy.

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Florida overall annual cost of living data

Using additional data collected by Forbes, let’s take a closer look at actual dollar amounts and how Florida ranks when compared to the other 50 states in the U.S.

Total annual cost of living: $40,512 — ranks #21 out of 50 states

(Average yearly expenses for housing, food, healthcare, transportation, and taxes)

Total annual disposable income: $15,468 — ranks #41 out of 50 states

(Total cost of living subtracted from average salary shown in table below.)

Florida cost of living data at a glance

Cost of living factor	Dollar amount	State ranking
Annual salary (average)	$55,980	#28
Transportation costs (annual)	$5,466	#13
Home price (median)	$390,856	#17
Mortgage payments (median monthly)	$2,335	#17
Rental costs (average monthly)	$1,703	#7
Housing costs (renters and homeowners)	$1,420	#17
Food costs (annual average)	$3,930	#28
Healthcare costs (annual average)	$9,501	#30
Income taxes (average annual)	$4,581	#33

Source: Forbes using data from the C2ER, U.S. Census and BLS reports, MIT Living Wage Calculator, Kaiser Family Foundation, and other public sources

Florida tax rates

State individual income tax rate: 0%* (Florida does not have a state income tax)
State sales tax rate: 6.00%
Effective property tax rate (percentage of home value): 0.86%
Median annual property taxes paid: $2,143
Average annual property tax bill: $3,339

*Local governments are allowed to impose several types of local option taxes

Of 50 states, how does Florida rank for livability?

If you’re planning a move to the Centennial State, you may be interested in more than just the cost of living data. Here’s a brief summary of livability insights for [state]:

Florida livability rankings

Crime and corrections: #17 (corrections outcomes, public safety)
Economy: #7 (business environment, jobs, growth)
Education: #1 (higher education, pre-K-12)
Fiscal stability: #13 (long- and short-term stability)
Healthcare: #27 (access, quality, public health)
Infrastructure: #14 (energy, Internet access, transportation)
Natural environment: #17 (air and water quality, pollution)
Opportunity: #46 (Affordability, economic opportunity, equality)

Source: U.S. News & World Report

»See more details about these categories on this U.S. News Florida rankings page.

Additional cost of living indexes

Here are some cost of living index links to research additional Florida living expenses:

Statista: Provides free access to many basic statistics.
ACCRA (C2ER): Maintained by the Council for Community and Economic Research. This is a paid service
World Population Review CLI page: This website provides a free search-by-state tool at the bottom of its Cost of Living Index page.
Numbeo: This crowd-sourced CLI promotes itself as “the world’s largest database of user-contributed data about cities and countries worldwide. It’s free for personal use.

Why are people moving to (or away from) Florida?

According to the United Van Lines 47th Annual Movers Study that tracks migrations within the United States, here are the reasons people are moving into Florida, or moving away to other states.

Primary reasons people are moving

Inbound	Reason for the move	Outbound
29.00%	Retirement	4.90%
3.80%	Health	6.30%
19.60%	Family	38.60%
17.00%	Lifestyle	11.80%
16.50%	Job	20.30%
1.90%	Cost	3.40%

Total inbound: 56.9%

Total outbound: 43.1%

Budgeting for your move to Florida

Below is a collection of handy online tools you can use to help estimate your Flordia moving costs and living expenses — from how much you’ll need to pay a mover to how much your current home might sell for and the proceeds you can expect.

1. Online move cost estimators

With today’s smart technology, you can find a wide variety of tools to help you estimate the cost of paying for a mover, or how to find a trusted mover. Some examples include:

2. Cost of living calculators

Cost of living calculators are different from cost of living indexes. These tools, which are typically free, provide a comparison based on income and regional costs for housing, transportation, food, healthcare, and other basic necessities in the two locations you select, such as Portland, Oregon, and Miami, Florida. Examples of cost of living calculators include:

3. Living wage and budget calculators

Living Wage Calculator: Designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), this calculator can help you estimate the local wage rate that you’ll need as a full-time Florida worker in order to cover the costs of your family’s basic living expenses in a selected new city.
Family Budget Calculator: This tool, provided by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), estimates the income your family will need to attain a modest — yet adequate — standard of living in your selected Florida community. Choose from 10 family types in all counties and metro areas in the state.

4. Homebuyer calculators

Home Affordability Calculator: Understand the costs associated with buying a Florida home and find out how much home you can afford before you start looking at homes for sale or planning a move.
Down Payment Calculator: Estimate how much you might need to put down on a home in Florida and learn more about the loan options that work best for you.
Closing Costs Calculator: Find out how much cash you’ll need for closing costs on a house in Florida, including estimated lender and third-party fees.

5. Home seller calculators

Home Value Estimator: Get a preliminary estimate of what your current home is worth, along with options to help you get the best price when you’re ready to sell.
Best Time to Sell Calculator: Use this calculator that incorporates nationwide real estate transaction data to help time your move.
Agent Commissions Calculator: Learn how much you might pay in real estate agent commissions when selling a house in your current market.
Net Proceeds Calculator: Get a ballpark idea of the net proceeds you could earn from the sale of your existing home.

Image of newly purchased home that represents should you buy a house before selling yours.

Should You Buy a House Before Selling Yours or the Other Way Around? Learn more

Signing a buy before you sell mortgage agreement

How Do I Get A Buy Before You Sell Mortgage? (Bridge Loan) Learn more

Selling your current home and buying in Florida

To make your move smoother and less stressful, modern real estate solution companies like HomeLight have created innovative programs to help you buy a house before you sell your old one.

Watch the short video below to learn about HomeLight’s Buy Before You Sell program that lets you move into your new Florida home now and sell your current house with peace of mind and on your timeline.

Partner with a professional to find your new Florida home

As you plan your move, HomeLight can connect you with a top-performing, trusted real estate agent in your current city or in the Florida community where you’d like to live. We analyze over 27 million transactions and thousands of reviews to determine which agent is best for you based on your needs.

For the best of both worlds — coming and going — ask your agent about HomeLight’s Buy Before You Sell program to help take the uncertainty out of your Florida home purchase.

Header Image Source: (Ameer Basheer/ Unsplash)

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Richard Haddad

Managing Editor

Richard Haddad is the managing editor of HomeLight.com. He works with an experienced content team that oversees the company’s blog featuring in-depth articles about the home buying and selling process, homeownership news, home care and design tips, and related real estate trends. Previously, he served as an editor and content producer for World Company, Gannett, and Western News & Info, where he also served as news director and director of internet operations.