Can you really afford to live in Florida?

June 7, 2023

Average Cost of Living in Florida: $50,689 per year

If you dream of days spent on sandy Florida beaches, your wallet is in luck. Florida residents enjoy the 32nd-lowest cost of living in the United States, per MERIC data gathered in 2022. While 32nd place may not seem like much to brag about, when you compare what it would cost you to enjoy California’s beaches as a resident, your monthly budget is getting a break. California has the fourth-highest cost of living in the country.

Rankings give a look at the bigger picture, but what is the cost of living in Florida? Using 2021 data, the Bureau of Economic Analysis found that the average total personal consumption cost in Florida is $50,689 per year. Here’s how that breaks down.

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Housing Costs in Florida

Average Housing Costs in Florida: $1,137 to $1,981 per month

No matter where you live, one of your largest ongoing expenses will be paying for housing. Florida has nearly 10 million housing units, according to the 2021 census, so there’s an array of housing options throughout the state. How much do those housing options cost? Zillow listed the typical value of Florida homes at about $377,816 in February 2023, compared with a U.S. median existing-home sale price of $359,000 the previous month.

Here’s what monthly housing prices can look like in Florida, according to the latest census data from 2021:

Median monthly mortgage cost: $1,618
Median studio rent: $1,137
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,142
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,352
Median three-bedroom rent: $1,542
Median four-bedroom rent: $1,828
Median five-bedroom (or more) rent: $1,981
Median gross rent: $1,348

Housing prices vary throughout the state, so let’s examine the typical home values for 20 major Florida cities, per Zillow, in January 2023.

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Utility Costs in Florida

Average Utility Costs in Florida: $411 per month

Utility costs can vary a lot, depending on your state, whether you rely on natural gas, the size and age of your home, and age of appliances. Here’s what you can expect to spend in Florida.

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Groceries & Food

Average Grocery & Food Costs in Florida: $323.83 per person, per month

One ongoing expense is groceries and eating out. Where you live can affect how much you’ll spend on food.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that the average Floridian’s annual non-restaurant food cost is $3,886, so that’s about $324 per month. A family of four can expect to spend $1,296 per month on groceries, more or less.

The Council for Community and Economic Research , which ranks the food costs in major American cities, ranked Florida cities’ grocery costs for the second quarter of 2022 from lowest to highest.

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Transportation

Average Transportation Costs in Florida: $5,477 to $15,530 per year

No matter where you live in the country, transportation costs can add up. Throw kids into the mix, and costs rise.

Here’s what transportation can cost in Florida, according to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator for the first quarter of 2023.

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Health Care

Average Health Care Costs in Florida: $7,676 per person, per year

The average annual per-capita cost of health care in Florida is $7,676, the 2021 Bureau of Economic Analysis Personal Consumption Expenditures by State report found.

It’s worth noting that how much you spend on health care will depend on your unique medical needs and health insurance coverage.

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Child Care

Average Child Care Costs in Florida: $702 to $1,364 or more per child, per month

Many parents know the struggle of budgeting for child care. Where you live and the type of care you choose can have an effect on how much you spend.

In Florida if you need care for an infant, you’ll find that home-based family child care is much less expensive than an infant classroom. But once your child gets a little bit older, you’ll save by choosing the toddler classroom route. Let’s take a look at average child care costs in Florida.

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Taxes

Highest Marginal Tax Rate in Florida: None

Ready for some good news? Florida residents aren’t charged any state income tax, as noted by the Tax Foundation’s State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2023.

If you like the idea of getting away from state income taxes, then you’ll appreciate that the following states also don’t charge state income tax: Alaska, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

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Miscellaneous Costs

Now that you have a general idea of what the essentials will cost you, let’s chat about some of the non-essentials that make life fun.

If personal expenditures average $28,562 per person, per year in Florida, this is where Floridians may be spending some of that money (costs are accurate as of March 2023):

Walt Disney World annual passes start at $399 per year, per person and go as high as $1,399.
A day at the Miami Zoo is a much more affordable way to enjoy some family time: Free to $22.95, depending on age.
To get up close and personal with the alligators Florida is famous for, Gatorland tickets start at $22.99. A day spent on one of Florida’s beaches won’t set you back anything, aside from parking and snacks.

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How Much Money Do You Need to Live Comfortably in Florida?

While your definition of what it means to live comfortably will be unique to you and your needs, we all have a basic standard of living we hope to meet without having to feel excess financial pressure. If you have your heart set on moving to Florida, you may or may not find it hard to live comfortably.

According to U.S. News & World Report’s Affordability Rankings , Florida is 31 out of 50. That finding falls close to the MERIC data that ranked Florida the 32nd most expensive state.

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What Cities Have Low Cost of Living in Florida?

These two Florida cities have low cost of living, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research’s Cost of Living Index for the second quarter of 2022.

Jacksonville

You don’t need to give up big-city life for an affordable lifestyle in Florida. Jacksonville, with almost 1 million residents, as of the 2021 census, is the city with the second-lowest cost of living in the Sunshine State, with a cost-of-living index of 94.2.

Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach is another affordable city in Florida, with a cost-of-living index of 97.1. That’s a pretty sweet deal when you consider the fact that Daytona Beach really is a beach town. Affordable ocean views? Yes, please. This city also hosts tons of fun events year-round and is home to lots of great restaurants.

This article originally appeared on SoFi.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.

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