What Is It Like to Live in Florida?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#22

22nd out of 50 states overall.

Above average for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#27

27th cheapest state, about 2% below average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $73,600 here.

How we measure cost ›

Florida ranks 22nd of 50 states for overall quality of life and 27th for affordability. It does best on economy, air quality, and dog friendly, and struggles most with healthcare, green space, and climate. A typical household earns about $65,800 a year, and the cost of living runs about 2% below average.

Why Florida ranks #22 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Florida scores on each, best to worst.

Economy
#4 of 50
Air quality
#14 of 50
Dog friendly
#14 of 50
Education
#16 of 50
Walkability
#17 of 50
Safety
#22 of 50
Cost of living
#27 of 50
Healthcare
#35 of 50
Green space
#37 of 50
Climate
#39 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Florida at a glance

Typical household income

$65,800

33rd highest

Typical home price

$397,000

18th highest

Overall cost of living

2% below average

27th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 7%

42nd highest income tax

Typical commute

About 28 min

one way

Taxes in Florida

See your real Florida take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Florida taxes.

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Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.