Florida vs. your state: what the move actually saves you

Does moving to Florida actually save money?

Usually yes — but not for the reason people expect, and not on the line people expect. On housing costs alone, Florida is often more expensive. What pays for the move is the income tax.

The standard version of this article shows you Florida’s low property taxes next to New Jersey’s high ones and stops there. That comparison is real and it is half the calculation. The other half is homeowners insurance, where Florida is the most expensive state in the country — and on a like-for-like policy the increase can wipe out the entire property tax saving.

This guide does the whole subtraction. Every figure comes from one source used identically for all fifty states, so the columns can honestly be added and subtracted.

What happens to my property tax bill?

It falls almost everywhere. Florida’s effective rate is 0.73% of home value; New Jersey and Illinois are near 2%.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. The effective rate is median tax paid divided by median home value — calculated the same way for every state so the column is comparable.

What happens to my insurance bill?

It goes up, in every case. For the same policy, Florida is 5.8 times New Jersey and 4.6 times New York.

Average annual premium for an identical policy in every state — $300,000 dwelling, $300,000 liability, $1,000 deductible, 2% hurricane deductible where applicable. 2026 rate filings.

The housing subtraction, state by state

Put the two lines together and the result is uncomfortable: on housing costs alone, moving to Florida is more expensive from every one of these states.

Annual, using each state’s median property tax paid and the identical $300,000 policy. Positive means Florida is cheaper on that line.

The version where Florida wins

There is a second, equally honest way to run it. The $8,471 above is a standardized quote for a well-covered $300,000 home. The average of policies actually in force in Florida — which includes smaller, older and inland houses — is closer to $3,800. Run the same subtraction with that figure and the picture flips for the high-tax states:

Both tables are correct. Which one describes your move depends on one thing: what kind of Florida home you buy and where. That is not a hedge — it is the single most actionable finding in this guide, and it is covered in question 7.

So why does anyone move? The income tax

Because the line that decides it is not on your housing budget at all. Florida is one of eight states with no individual income tax, and for most households that is the largest number in the entire decision.

Tax Foundation, 2026. These are top marginal rates, not what a median household pays — your own rate depends on your income and filing status.

A New Jersey household in the top bracket saves more on income tax in a single year than the entire housing subtraction costs them. That is why the move works, and it is why the housing lines above — while real — are not the deciding factor for high earners.

Two things that go with it: Florida has no state estate or inheritance tax, and no state tax on retirement income, which is why the calculation looks different again for someone retiring rather than working.

Does it still work if I’m coming from Texas or Tennessee?

On taxes alone, no. If you are leaving one of the eight no-income-tax states, there is no income tax saving to collect — and the housing lines run against you.

The eight states with no individual income tax are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming. Coming from Texas, our table shows property tax falling by about $1,481 while insurance rises by about $3,889 — a net housing cost of roughly $2,408 a year, with nothing on the income side to offset it.

That does not make the move wrong. It makes it a lifestyle decision rather than a tax decision, and it should be budgeted as one. Be especially careful with any calculator that assumes an income tax saving you were never going to get.

What changes the answer more than the state you’re leaving

Where in Florida you buy. The spread in insurance between Florida ZIP codes is wider than the spread between most states.

Actual premiums per policy, from the federal data collection:

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Insurance Office, 2018–2022: 330 insurers, 246 million policies.

Kissimmee against Plantation is a difference of about $4,100 a year on the same line — larger than the entire property tax saving from most states. Distance to open water, the age of the roof and the flood zone will move your number more than whether you are leaving Trenton or Hartford.

The same applies in reverse: your current bill has little to do with your state’s median. If you are leaving Nassau County, your property tax is nothing like the New York State figure in our table.

What about sales tax, car registration and the rest?

Smaller, and mostly a wash. Florida funds itself with sales tax instead of income tax, so some of what you stop paying on one line comes back on another.

• Sales tax. 6% state, plus a county surtax that varies. Higher than some of the states people leave, lower than others. It is a real cost but it scales with what you spend, not what you earn — which is precisely why the move favours higher earners.
• Vehicles. Expect an initial registration fee on a car brought in from out of state, plus title transfer. A one-off, not a recurring surprise.
• No estate or inheritance tax at the state level, which matters more to some households than every other line on this page combined.
• Tolls. A genuine line item in South Florida commuting that nobody puts in a relocation budget.