Despite the hurricanes, gators and humidity, Americans keep moving to Florida.
The state’s population saw the second-largest numerical increase from 2023 to 2024 and grew at the fastest rate of any state in the country, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
The Sunshine State has long held a reputation for being affordable, mild in climate and full of fun for all ages. Some of those factors have helped it become a top choice for retirees. Florida has one of the oldest populations in the country with nearly 22% of the state’s residents aged 65 years and older, compared with just 17% of the national population, according to Census Bureau data.
Young people are increasingly calling Florida home, too. The state saw the largest net increase of young high-earners in 2022, according to a SmartAsset analysis of the most recent Internal Revenue Service data. Nearly 1,800 millennial-headed households earning at least $200,000 a year moved into the state in 2022.
Chabely Rodriguez earned over $210,000 a year as an anesthesiologist assistant in Tampa, Florida.
Andrea Desky | CNBC Make It
“I’ve gotten to do a lot of fun things and live a different life than I was living in New York,” Chabely Rodriguez told CNBC Make It in 2023, while the 29-year-old was living in Tampa, Florida and earning over $210,000 a year. “[I] have a lot more space and have my money go a lot farther and enjoy life a little bit more down South.”
Here’s a glimpse of what life is like for young Americans living in Florida.
‘I have the best of both worlds’
Liz White moved to Naples, Florida from Philadelphia in 2021 when she was 31-years-old. Not only did she move from a relatively young city — Philadelphia has a median age of just under 36, compared to Naple’s median of just under 68 years old, per Census data — but she also moved into an actual retirement community.
Her rent stayed roughly the same at about $2,000 a month, but she got more space in her 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment in Naples, White told CNBC Make It. Her parents wound up buying the apartment and allowed White to live there full-time. They stay with her when they’re in town.
Liz White moved into her parents’ retirement community during the pandemic.
Liz White
“The rules can be a lot, but I just love the sl
