The typical mover to Florida makes $55,000 a year, is a millennial or Gen Xer, is married, and moved from New York and California.
A Business Insider analysis of individual-level data from the Census Bureau's 2022 American Community Survey, assembled by the University of Minnesota's IPUMS program, found that movers to Florida were from older generations at greater percentages, were more likely to be married, and were less likely to be employed than movers leaving Florida.
Many are moving to Florida for the lack of a state income tax, good weather along the water, and ample retirement opportunities. Others enjoy the state's laid-back lifestyle, access to entrepreneurship resources, and diverse cultural experiences. The state's robust economy is also expanding thanks to younger movers opening new businesses.
Perhaps expectedly, boomers made up a large portion of movers to Florida at 23.9%, many moving for retirement. Millennials were the largest generation by percentage of movers at 29.3%, while Gen Z and Gen X were slightly over 20% each.
Those moving to Florida make over $7,500 more than those leaving at $55,115.48. Still, only 57.6% of movers to Florida are employed, with 3.7% unemployed and 37.4% not in the labor force, meaning they're students, retired, or not actively looking for work.
Much more than those leaving, many are moving to Florida to buy a home. Over 49% of movers to Florida are homebuyers — compared to 37% of those leaving. The average home value comes in about $503,000 for those moving in.
Those moving to Florida come from big states such as New York and California, as well as others from the Northeast. Of the nearly 739,000 people who moved to Florida between 2021 and 2022, 91,200 moved from New York, while 50,700 moved from California. New Jersey, Georgia, and Texas all had over 38,000 movers.
Movers to Florida are also much more likely to be married than those leaving at 48.9% and 39.5% respectively. Around 11% of those moving to Florida are divorced, while 4.6% are widowed.
"I think this is the biggest migration that we're going to see certainly in our generation — but maybe in our lifetime," Holly Meyer Lucas, a real-estate agent in South Florida, previously told BI.
The hundreds of thousands of new movers into the state have led some areas to face a housing and affordability crisis. Some previous residents told BI the rapidly rising cost of living had pushed them out to neighboring states or across the country.
Have you recently moved to a new state and want to share your story? Reach out to this reporter at nsheidlower@bjinnox.com.
