Moving to South Florida: The Honest Numbers

The honest numbers

Every headline about Florida migration is either two years stale or cherry-picked. Here is what the Census Bureau and the IRS actually show as of this writing.

The other number that belongs in this conversation: about 506,200 people left Florida for another state in 2024, nearly flat versus about 510,000 in 2023. Florida is simultaneously the top state for people moving in and the second-highest for people moving out. It is a large, high-turnover state, not a one-way migration. The top destinations for people leaving Florida in 2024 were Georgia (52,400), Texas (52,200) and North Carolina (33,600).

Why people move

Taxes

Florida has no state income tax and no estate tax, under the state constitution. For a New York City couple with $300,000 of taxable income, that is about $28,264 a year in state and city income tax that stops, using the 2025 rate schedules. New Jersey and California households at the same income keep roughly $15,000 and $21,000 respectively that they would otherwise owe their home state. Full worked examples are on my Florida income tax page.

Weather

Miami sees the sun roughly 70% of possible daylight hours, more than 3,100 hours a year. That is the lifestyle argument, and for a lot of my clients it matters as much as the tax bill. See the honest trade-off, heat and hurricanes included, on my pros and cons of living in Florida page.

What your money buys

A Manhattan or Bay Area housing budget goes much further here. Miami-Dade's median single-family home sold for $680,000 in August 2026 against a record $1,250,000 Manhattan median. The full cost comparisons are on the New York and Fort Lauderdale-specific guides linked below.

Where they come from

IRS Statistics of Income data for 2022-2023, the most recent published, shows the states losing the most tax filers on net, and their top income tax rates for context.

The IRS does publish the state-to-state flows for 2022 to 2023. New Jersey to Florida: 20,113 tax returns covering 34,761 people and about $2.96 billion in adjusted gross income. California to Florida: 20,241 returns, 34,248 people and about $2.64 billion in income. The New York to Florida bilateral row was not confirmed from a live IRS table as of this writing, so the New York figure above is that state's total net loss to all destinations, not to Florida alone. In my own practice, New York and New Jersey buyers land most often in Sunny Isles Beach, Aventura and Fort Lauderdale, and California buyers gravitate to Miami Beach, Coral Gables and Fort Lauderdale.

What it costs

The short version: no state income tax, roughly 7% combined sales tax in Miami-Dade and Broward, and property tax around 0.8% to 1% of value with a homestead exemption and assessment cap for primary residences. Homeowners insurance runs materially higher than the Northeast, and a fresh purchase is taxed on the full price, not a long-time owner's capped assessment. For the full numbers by city:

• Florida income tax: the complete state-by-state comparison and calculator.
• Cost of living in Fort Lauderdale: housing, rent, taxes and schools for Broward County.
• Pros and cons of living in Florida: insurance, hurricanes and traffic, with the numbers.

Where to live

South Florida is not one market. Northeast money tends toward Sunny Isles Beach, Aventura, Bal Harbour and Fort Lauderdale for the building life and the boat docks. California buyers lean toward Miami Beach, Coral Gables and Fort Lauderdale. Families most often land in Weston, Pinecrest, Parkland or Coral Springs for the schools. I break all of this down, with medians and school grades, in the guides below.

• Best places to live in South Florida: the full ranked list across the region.
• Best places to live in Florida for families: schools, commute and price by neighborhood.
• Best places to live in Florida for retirees: tax and healthcare-focused picks.
• Best places to live in Florida for young adults: rents, jobs and nightlife by neighborhood.
• Best neighborhoods in Miami for families: the Miami-Dade picks, school by school.

Guides by origin state

If you are coming from one of the six states I see most, I wrote a dedicated guide with the tax math, cost of living and neighborhood picks specific to your move.

• Moving from New York to Miami

  Taxes you stop paying, NYC vs Miami cost of living, and where New Yorkers actually land.

• Moving from New Jersey to Florida

  NJ tax brackets against Florida's zero, cost of living, and the towns New Jersey buyers pick.

• Moving from California to Florida

  California's 13.3% top rate versus Florida's zero, and the honest hurricane-versus-wildfire conversation.

• Moving from Connecticut to Florida

  Connecticut's brackets against Florida's zero, property taxes, and where Fairfield County buyers land.

• Moving from Massachusetts to Florida

  The Massachusetts flat tax and surtax versus zero, Boston housing costs, and the towns Bay Staters pick.

• Moving from Illinois to Florida

  Illinois income and property taxes against Florida, Chicago versus Fort Lauderdale costs, and where Chicago buyers land.

The relocation checklist

1. Residency. If you are leaving a state with an income tax, keep a day count. New York's rule is the strictest I deal with: keep a home there and spend more than 183 days in the state and you are taxed as a full resident regardless of where you say you live. Get a Florida driver's license, register to vote, and move your doctors and advisors down.
2. Insurance. Get a quote on the specific property before you make an offer, not after. Florida's average homeowners premium is the highest in the country, and it varies enormously by roof age, construction and distance from the water.
3. Condo documents. If you are buying a condo three stories or taller, pull the milestone structural inspection status and the reserve study before you fall for the unit. Post-Surfside rules mean deferred-maintenance buildings are issuing real special assessments.
4. Homestead exemption. File with the county property appraiser after closing. The deadline is March 1 of the year following your purchase, and it is worth up to $50,000 off your assessed value plus an annual cap on future increases.
5. Timeline. Most of my out-of-state buyers do one trip of two to three days for showings, then close 30 to 45 days after a financed offer, faster for cash. Budget a few months between "serious" and keys in hand.

Live listings across South Florida

Current MLS listings between $600,000 and $3,000,000 in Sunny Isles Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, refreshed as you load this page.

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau, "U.S. Population Growth Slows Due to Historic Decline in Net International Migration," Vintage 2025 estimates, January 27, 2026. census.gov.
2. IRS Statistics of Income, Migration Data 2022-2023, state files for New Jersey, California and Florida (2223nj.xlsx, 2223ca.xlsx), and as compiled by the Tax Foundation's State Migration Trends. taxfoundation.org.
3. Census Bureau state-to-state migration flows, as reported by WFLA, "Florida had the most people moving in, 2nd most moving out in 2024," 2026.
4. New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, 2025 Form IT-201 rate schedules. tax.ny.gov.
5. New Jersey Division of Taxation, Tax Rate Schedules. nj.gov.
6. California Franchise Tax Board, 2025 Form 540 Tax Rate Schedules. ftb.ca.gov.
7. Connecticut Office of Legislative Research; Massachusetts Department of Revenue, 4% surtax threshold for tax year 2025. mass.gov.
8. Florida Constitution, Article VII, Section 5. Text.
9. MIAMI Realtors, August 2026 monthly statistics (Miami-Dade single-family and condo medians); Redfin Miami-Dade County housing-market page for context. redfin.com.
10. Douglas Elliman / Miller Samuel, Manhattan Q2 2026 market report (as reported in real estate press).
11. Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, Homestead Exemption. miamidadepa.gov.