Cost of living in Tampa Bay Area may push working-class families and retirees out of Florida

Florida’s growth may price out some families

The population boom in Florida is bringing economic growth, but it comes with a price – one that could force some working class families out of the state.

TAMPA, Fla. - Florida's population boom is feeding jobs, but it comes at a price. A UCF study projects our economy will keep growing. But wages have not kept up with the cost of living.

Credit card debt has reached a record high, and it's pricing a lot of people like Ruth Allen out of Florida.

In 2021, Ruth and her husband moved from Michigan to Central Florida-- when the freedom of working from home, and COVID restrictions up north drove a mass migration south. They picked a home in Polk County to be between Gulf beaches and Disney World, and because they were impressed with Polk Sheriff Grady Judd.

Ruth said she loved Florida—until she learned how property taxes shoot up when homes change owners and tax caps go away, and she discovered the soaring costs of home insurance (fueled by a mix of storm damage, climate change, and fraud). After three years of scrimping and trying to balance a budget, they’re bailing out.

"And if we’re lucky being gone by the end of September," Allen noted.

They’ve already picked a neighborhood in Tennessee, which has no income tax like Florida.

"It would be at least $300-400 every month that we’d be saving," she said.

Ruth Allen is not alone. Many who moved to the Tampa Bay area during the pandemic are leaving because they can no longer afford it. So are many others who were born and raised here like Amber Flanders. She moved to a home in East Tennessee.

"There’s nothing like a beach sunset, but a mountain sunset is a very close second," said Flanders. "The two acres plus the home was less than $300k."

READ: Florida is second-best state to live in in 2024, according to study

She's saving around three thousand dollars a year in home insurance, around $1,400 in car insurance, and she's paying less for groceries and utilities.

Meanwhile, Cody Sydenham and his family moved from Lakeland to South Dakota—trading theme parks for snowy mountains and the northern lights. He's saving around $140 a month in car insurance, $900 a month in rent, and seeing a big drop in his power bills.

"One of the biggest reasons we left was the cost of living," he said. "Back there we were paying $300-400 a month for just electric… Here, our highest electric bill was $181, and that’s gas included with electric."

An AARP analysis shows Florida has the 9th most expensive utilities in the nation.

Tampa Bay's overall rate of inflation during the pandemic outpaced New York, San Francisco, and Honolulu. It's why Melissa Lambert moved from South Tampa to South Carolina.

"My husband was like we just got to get out of here because in a couple of years we won’t be able to afford anything around here," said Lambert. "I definitely miss a lot of things about Tampa, but there's no way we could afford to move back."

All the extra people who rushed in from during the pandemic drove up demand and prices for homes.

"They’d make an offer on a house not even seeing the house," said Tampa Bay real estate broker associate Mike Lavoy.

That also drove up demand and prices for food.

READ: Rush to sell condos ahead of new rule on inspections to prevent tragedies like Surfside

"A lot of people are getting fed up with the cost and are moving to less expensive places," Lavoy said.

Paul Kraff moved from Tampa to North Carolina.

"Everything in Tampa seems like it was a dollar to two dollars more than what we pay for here," he said.

But as Paul, Cody, Amber, Melissa, Ruth and others leave, they're being replaced by Northern transplants who can afford the rising costs.

"I still have a lot more people moving into the state than out of the state," Lavoy said.

This is churning our population and still growing it.

"As long as the economy holds up, I think we’ll see a lot more people moving into Florida than moving out. Housing prices will probably not go down. If they do, it’s going to be a point of two," said Lavoy.

That may continue to drive our economy, but also drive more working-class families and retirees on fixed incomes out. According to a study by Smart Asset, a single adult needs to make around $94,000 a year to live comfortably in Tampa-St. Pete.

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