Florida is a good tour destination and is equally perfect for living. Whether it's about theme parks, the shining sun, or a high standard of living, Florida can be a perfect destination to build your dream house.
However, the recent pandemic and global politico-economic crises have had profound impacts on the world, as well as Florida. The everyday price of living is increasing, making it difficult to meet the ends.
In this regard, this article will be a detailed guide about the price of living in Florida in 2024, discussing various aspects like housing, utilities, grocery, healthcare, etc.
What Is The Average Cost Of Living In Florida?
Planning about moving to Florida but worried about the cost of living there? Maybe you do not need to because Florida boasts a 2% lower cost of living comparatively than the national average. On average, a Floridan spends around $51000 annually and $4500 monthly on living costs.
Nonetheless, it’s important to mention here that personal consumption expenditures boomed in the fiscal year 2021-2022, the third-largest increase in history.
City with the highest cost of living in Florida
While the average cost of living in Florida is below the national average, Fort Lauderdale's it is 20% higher than the other states. Other cities with high living costs include Miami, Cape Coral, Sarasota, and Orlando, with 19%, 7%, 6%, and 2% higher than the state average, respectively.
City with the lowest cost of living in Florida
Palm Coast is the best city to live in Florida regarding low costs, with a cost 12% lower than the state average. Following this are Pensacola, Ocala, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Sebastian, with costs of 12%, 11%, 7%, 5%, 5%, and 5% lower than the state average, respectively.
How Much Housing Costs In Florida?
Whether buying or renting, housing is expensive in Florida and at the top of the cost of living expenses. Also, housing costs have been on a perpetual rise in recent years. Miami, for example, witnessed an 8.7% increase in rent costs in 2023.
Normally, the average rent in Florida for a one-bedroom apartment is $1313, and for a two-bedroom apartment, it is $1556. In other cases, if you want to opt for buying instead of renting, you will need around $450,000 for an average house.
However, the prices vary according to location, both for buying and renting. For example, in Fort Lauderdale, renting a one-bedroom apartment costs $1700 on average, while in Tampa, you can get the same residence for $1340. Prices can also vary even within the city, depending on the location’s proximity to the city’s main attractions and facilities like hospitals and schools.
What Are The Average Transportation Costs In Florida?
Transportation costs in Floria mainly depend on your family size and personal preference for commuting, whether you own a car, utilize taxi services, or prefer public transportation.
While the metro system is not very much developed and generally not considered very much feasible, for a ballpark figure, MIT’s calculator can offer valuable insights into average transportation costs in Florida. As per this, one adult spends around $9000 annually on transportation. For a family of four, two working adults and two children, this price spikes to around $15000 annually.
How Much Are Utility Costs In Florida?
The Sunshine state is notorious for its hot weather. So, utility bills can take a major chunk of your monthly budget. The average monthly utility bill in Florida is $411, which is 2% less than the national average of $469. Below is the cost breakdown for different utilities.
|
Utility |
Costs |
|
Electricity |
$131 |
|
Gas |
$135 |
|
Water |
$110 |
|
Internet & TV |
$35 |
What Are Average Grocery Costs In Florida?
Florida is known not only for its beautiful beaches but also for its fanciful restaurants. With that said, if you are a foodie who likes to dine out, it can tool heavily on your cost of living budget.
As per stats of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, groceries cost $3886 annually or $324 for an adult, that is, too, if you cook all your meals at home and do not go to restaurants to dine in. In the case later, the price would be different. Similarly, the monthly grocery costs for a family of four are $1296 monthly.
Talking specifically about different Florida cities, the Council for Community and Economic Research ranked its different cities from highest to lowest in terms of grocery costs, including Miami at the top, and following it are Fort Lauderdale, Sebastian-Vero Beach, Tallahassee, Tampa, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, and Orlando.
How Much Healthcare Costs In Florida?
The healthcare costs in Florida depend on various factors, i.e., your personal health conditions, locality, and insurance coverage. However, as per some findings by Forbers, Floridians pay the highest health insurance at around $7528 in terms of employee insurance deduction.
For better insights below given table includes healthcare costs in Florida according to number of individulas in your family and thier working status. However, these costs are from a 2021 report of Economic Analysis Personal Consumption Expenditure, so as per July 2024, slight increases are expected.
|
Individuals |
Annual Healthcare Costs |
|
Single Adult |
$2600 |
|
1 Adult + 1 Child |
$8600 |
|
2 Working Adults |
$6290 |
|
2 Working Adults + 2 Children |
$8900 |
What Are The Average Childcare Costs in Florida?
In Florida, childcare could be a major expense for families. Florida is among 33 US states where childcare is more expensive than a 4 year’s college tuition fee and accounts for 107% more in terms of cost. For a toddler you expect to spend around $9200 annually or $750 monthly. As the child grows up the costs becomes lows. For example, for a 4 year kid this reduces to $7200 annully and $600 monthly.
How Much Do Taxes Costs In Florida?
Florida can be a tax haven with its lowest tax rates compared to any other US state. Firstly, the state income tax is zero. However, for groceries, you have to pay 6% sales tax, which is combined with another 2% sales tax by local authorities, making an average of 7% sales tax throughout Florida.
It's worth mentioning that, though the state does not charge any income tax, you still have to pay the Federal Income Tax regularised by the IRS.
What Is The Ideal Salary For Living In Florida?
Florida is an ideal state to live your dream life. While low-priced in terms of taxation and grocery costs, housing and utility bills coupled with other expenses can make it tough to meet ends. So, for a common budgeting rule, you should earn at least 70% more than your housing budget.
Taking this as standard, if the average rent of a one-bedroom apartment is $1313, your monthly earnings should be around $4377 to live in Florida. However, this amount is only to fulfill essential needs, the more the higher your living standard is, the more your expenses will be.
How Can I Save On The Cost Of Living In Florida?
Florida’s scenic beauty and high living standards are enticing, but striking a delicate balance among your day-to-day expenditures, taxes, and savings is not easy. With current inflation, careful planning has never been more critical.
While there is no single panacea to this, but going solar can be a wise decision. Solar power is a renewable energy source. In the state of Florida, where sunlight is available at maximum, solar generators can be a reliable and free source of electricity, saving enough to equalize your groceries, all while cutting on your monthly electric bills.
However, the initial cost of setting up a solar system can concern many. That's where BLUETTI comes in. As a globally renowned solar product brand, BLUETTI offers top-tier quality and a PRICE MATCH GUARANTEE, ensuring you get the best deal on solar panels, batteries, and inverters. With BLUETTI, you're investing not just in a solar system but in peace of mind and financial freedom. Below, we review three exceptional solar systems from BLUETTI that can transform your energy consumption and savings.
BLUETTI AC200MAX + 2*B230 + 3*PV200
Want a reliable power backup to be used during peak hours to run a small AC? AC200MAX is best to serve the purpose. It’s a medium sized pure sine wave inverter with an output capacity of 2200W and surge power of 4800W, enough to run all your essential home appliances at a time.
AC200MAX comes with a battery capacity of 2048Wh, that can even run your 8000BTU AC for 6 to 14 hours. However, if the storage capacity is enough for you, add additional B300 batteries and you can extend it upto 8192Wh.
Other advantages include 3500 plus charge cycle ensuring the battery life of more than 10 years with one charge cycle per day. 7 recharging streams including multiple output ports to manage multiple appliances simultaneously.
What’s exceptional about this unit is PRICE MATCH GAURANTEE which allows you to claim the extra amount within 30 days of yourpurchase if you find any similar unit low-priced than this. Further, it also qualifies for 30% Federal Tax Credit, giving you instant saving of around $1800 on ufront costs.
BLUETTI AC300 + B300 + PV350
This deal is a combination of a 3kW inverter with 6kW surge power, a LiFePO4 battery with a capacity of 3072Wh, and solar panels to harness the sun’s power.
The output capacity of AC300 is enough to power your multiple home appliances simultaneously, and battery capacity can keep them running for days and hours. Still, if you find the storage capacity low, the system is modular allowing for an expansion of up to 12288Wh.
AC300 promises you a reliable power supply even when enough sunshine is not available so it comes with multi-way recharging through wall-outlet or AC, solar, car battery, and AC+solar for more efficient and fast charging. Further, its multiple output ports ensures its compatibility with all your home appliances.
But if you are still unsure about your decision, the good news is its money-back guarantee which allows for the return of un-used products within 30 days of purchase, if you find it unsuitable.
BLUETTI AC500 + B300/B300S
For those in search of a viable solution to go completely off the grid, AC500 could be one potential go-to solution for a medium household.
The system boasts and output capacity of 5kW with surge of 10kW, enough for power needs of all your heavy-duty power hungry appliances. Its battery capacity 3072 wH is expandable according to your needs up to 18432wH.
Perfect for both to be used independently or attached to a grid system, its battery with 3500 plus charge cycles offers an excellent ROI.
What else on the list is multiple charging streams, 16 output ports including wireless ports too, and smooth operation through wifi and bluetooth, allowing for smart management of appliance. Lastly AC500 too offers price match guarantee with 30% Federal Tax credit so price savings are guaranteed.
The Bottom Line
The charm of living in Floria is indeed unmatchable. However, if you are planning to make a move, understanding the cost of living there can help you better plan for yourself and your family.
While inflation is throttling the space for savings, BLUETTI solar systems are a wise investment that not only ensure significant savings but also a clean and green future for the upcoming generations.
