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Where Florida’s retirees are choosing to move.
Increased cost of living has some retirees fleeing Florida
Florida’s warm weather, beautiful beaches, and low taxes have made it a dream destination for many Americans to retire, but it is now becoming out of reach for some.
Lucia Laureano has always pictured Florida as the ideal place to live out her golden years. What she didn’t expect was how much it would cost.
“When I got hit with the first increase, I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it. I was shocked,” Laureano said.
When Laureano first moved into her 55+ retirement community in Lakeland, her lot rent was $887. In January, it will go up to $2,000 a month.
“Snowbirds that have been here for 20-something years, since they’ve built the park, and they’re talking about how the rent started to what it is today and they can’t believe it,” Laureano said.
A recent analysis from retirement experts for GOBankingRates found some people are rethinking the Sunshine State as the go-to retirement destination.
The cost of housing in Florida has skyrocketed, with a median home value of nearly $393,000, according to Zillow.
“It used to be that people could retire in Florida and get a beautiful home for fairly inexpensive compared to other states. Now it’s not as competitive as it used to be, so that makes it more difficult to retire to the home that they want to be in,” said Dave Duquette, president of Impact Wealth Advisors.
Some retirement experts say the state’s ongoing insurance crisis is also driving retirees to find more affordable places to call home. No matter where you live, wealth advisers like Duquette say one of the biggest mistakes people make when planning for retirement is their savings percentage.
“We teach them how to save more than 5%. We’re wanting to focus on trying to save at least 20% of gross income and helping them diversify where that’s going. Not all into a vehicle like a traditional 401K,” Duquette said.
Financial advisers said, to make your cash stretch further during retirement, you should continue to invest, set aside money for emergencies, and become debt-free.
Experts said states like Alabama, Wyoming and South Carolina are becoming more attractive retirement destinations.
ABC Action News Latest Headlines | November 16, 7pm
10 Cheapest Places Left To Live In Florida
Whether you’re planning to relocate with your family or thinking about where to settle for retirement, many people set their sights on moving to Florida. In 2022, the United States Census Bureau announced Florida is the fastest-growing state in the nation. As more people flock to Florida, many may wonder which cities offer the most affordable way of life for residents.
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To determine where the cheapest places left to live still are, GOBankingRates sourced data from Zillow, Sperling’s Best Places and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Single-family home value, condo/co-op value and rental home cost were all factors scored, combined and sorted to show the cheapest Florida cities first. Other factors used to create a ranking of the cheapest places to live left in Florida included annual costs for groceries, healthcare, utilities, transportation and miscellaneous expenses for a total monthly cost.
In reverse order, here are the 10 cheapest places left to live in Florida.
10. South Daytona
- Single-family home value: $278,086.36
- Condo/co-op value: $158,532.35
- Rental home cost value: $1,682.64
- Grocery annual cost: $5,201.15
- Healthcare annual cost: $5,599.20
- Utilities annual cost: $4,083.64
- Transportation annual cost: $5,318.35
- Miscellaneous expenses annual cost: $880.50
- Total monthly cost: $1,756.90
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9. Jasper
- Single-family home value: $207,414.39
- Condo/co-op value: $228,098.50
- Rental home cost value: $844
- Grocery annual cost: $5,032.86
- Healthcare annual cost: $6,869.52
- Utilities annual cost: $4,603.07
- Transportation annual cost: $4,596.74
- Miscellaneous expenses annual cost: $726.68
- Total monthly cost: $1,819.07
8. Jacksonville
- Single-family home value: $233,747.75
- Condo/co-op value: $154,578.93
- Rental home cost value: $1,228.02
- Grocery annual cost: $5,216.93
- Healthcare annual cost: $5,462.90
- Utilities annual cost: $4,341.24
- Transportation annual cost: $5,761.55
- Miscellaneous expenses annual cost: $1,021.50
- Total monthly cost: $1,817.01
7. Springfield
- Single-family home value: $223,690.20
- Condo/co-op value: $194,019.28
- Rental home cost value: $1,211.02
- Grocery annual cost: $5,080.19
- Healthcare annual cost: $5,402.93
- Utilities annual cost: $4,497.50
- Transportation annual cost: $5,170.62
- Miscellaneous expenses annual cost: $910.08
- Total monthly cost: $1,755.11
6. Lake Wales
- Single-family home value: $250,543.15
- Condo/co-op value: $136,540.59
- Rental home cost value: $1,508.33
- Grocery annual cost: $5,364.18
- Healthcare annual cost: $5,501.07
- Utilities annual cost: $4,493.27
- Transportation annual cost: $4,994.48
- Miscellaneous expenses annual cost: $788.80
- Total monthly cost: $1,761.82
5. Inverness
- Single-family home value: $246,074.40
- Condo/co-op value: $163,755.85
- Rental home cost value: $1,495.83
- Grocery annual cost: $5,364.18
- Healthcare annual cost: $5,310.25
- Utilities annual cost: $4,535.50
- Transportation annual cost: $4,710.38
- Miscellaneous expenses annual cost: $799.65
- Total monthly cost: $1,726.66
4. Titusville
- Single-family home value: $98,269.84
- Condo/co-op value: $190,534.33
- Rental home cost value: $1,591.70
- Grocery annual cost: $5,185.37
- Healthcare annual cost: $5,446.55
- Utilities annual cost: $4,083.64
- Transportation annual cost: $4,943.34
- Miscellaneous expenses annual cost: $1,043.19
- Total monthly cost: $1,725.17
3. Ocala
- Single-family home value: $273,338.60
- Condo/co-op value: $141,328.58
- Rental home cost value: $1,635.67
- Grocery annual cost: $5,159.08
- Healthcare annual cost: $5,321.15
- Utilities annual cost: $4,400.37
- Transportation annual cost: $4,664.92
- Miscellaneous expenses annual cost: $777.95
- Total monthly cost: $1,693.62
2. Lake Placid
- Single-family home value: $265,298.86
- Condo/co-op value: $135,534.57
- Rental home cost value: $1,285.83
- Grocery annual cost: $5,395.73
- Healthcare annual cost: $5,795.48
- Utilities annual cost: $4,632.63
- Transportation annual cost: $4,324.00
- Miscellaneous expenses annual cost: $772.04
- Total monthly cost: $1,743.32
1. Sebring
- Single-family home value: $96,471.14
- Condo/co-op value: $153,029.91
- Rental home cost value: $1,466.85
- Grocery annual cost: $5,327.37
- Healthcare annual cost: $5,795.48
- Utilities annual cost: $4,480.60
- Transportation annual cost: $3,977.40
- Miscellaneous expenses annual cost: $775.00
- Total monthly cost: $1,696.32
Methodology: For each city in Florida, GOBankingRates found the [1] Single Family Home Median Home Value for July 2023 sourced from the Zillow Home Value Index, [2] Condo/COOP Median Home value for July 2023 sourced from the Zillow Home Value Index, and [3] Median Rental Cost for July 2023 sourced from Zillow Observed Rental Index. These three factors were scored, combined, and sorted to show the cheapest cities first. The top 50 cheapest cities were kept and for each of these 50 cities the cost of living indexes across; [4] grocery, [5] healthcare, [6] utilities, [7] transportation, and [8] miscellaneous expense categories were sourced from Sperlings’ Best Places. The cost of living indexes were multiplied by the [9] national median annual expense costs sourced from Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, to find the median costs for each expenditure category. Factors [1] through [3] were weighted at 0.5, factors [4] through [8] were weighted at 1.0, and then both factors were combined and sorted to show the cheapest places to live in Florida. All data was collected and is up-to-date as-of August 21st, 2023.
