Florida Cities Are Among the Worst for Stretching A Median Income

As if Floridians didn’t know how much it can cost to live in the Sunshine State, a new report shows that Tampa, Orlando, and Miami are among the 20 states where the median income falls the shortest of covering monthly expenses.

The study, which sought to understand how far residents of different American cities can go on a monthly median income, ranked cities based on how their census-reported median income compared to average local living expenses. Based on their calculations, median-income residents of Tampa fell $127 short of monthly living expenses and residents of Orlando fell $72 short. Residents of Miami squeezed out a meager $91 in disposable income per month.

No Florida cities were included in the top 20 cities where the median income goes the furthest. In fact, the closest neighboring city to Florida featured in that top 20 list was Atlanta, GA, where disposable income hovered around $495 dollars per month.

While many Americans think that Florida is a cheap place to live, based on a lack of income tax and the low cost of living within neighboring Southern states, Florida is not the affordable paradise it used to be. Based on a report from the State of Florida Living, Florida is now the 30th most expensive state to live in as measured by the Consumer Price Index. Of course, those costs of living only go up as residents move closer into cities like Tampa, Orlando, and Miami.

Interestingly, the cost of living in these cities may increase even more in the months following the pandemic. As reported by the Financial Times, the sunshine, buzz, and ease of Florida life became a huge draw for Northern city residents who felt trapped in empty, unsafe cities during quarantine. That draw led to a surge in Northern migrators heading down to Florida and buying up some precious real estate. With less space available and more high-income Northern residents moving to Florida cities like those listed above, it wouldn’t be surprising if living costs increase in the coming months and years. If that happens, then surely that median income, earned by many native Floridians, will fall even shorter than covering monthly expenses.

See the full report here.