25 Affordable Cities in Florida To Consider If You’re Retiring in 2024

There’s good news for retirees heading to the Sunshine State to kickstart their retirement years. You’ve got your pick of affordable Florida cities to choose from if you plan on retiring this year.

To determine which Florida cities offer retirees the most affordable total cost of living, GOBankingRates used the U.S. Census American Community Survey to find Florida cities and their median household income for ages 65 and over. Factors found in each city included the January 2024 average single family home value, average mortgage rate, average expenditure costs (using cost-of-living indexes for groceries, healthcare, utilities and transportation). Total monthly cost was calculated by adding the average mortgage and average expenditure costs and the livability index was also included.

From No. 25 to No. 1, these 25 Florida cities offer retirees the cheapest cost of living.

• January 2024 average home value: $278,668
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $43,250
• Average mortgage: $1,652
• Average expenditure costs: $1,493
• Livability: 76
• Total monthly costs: $3,144

• January 2024 average home value: $219,487
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $39,419
• Average mortgage: $1,301
• Average expenditure costs: $1,478
• Livability: 73
• Total monthly costs: $2,779

• January 2024 average home value: $207,562
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $29,560
• Average mortgage: $1,230
• Average expenditure costs: $1,430
• Livability: 73
• Total monthly costs: $2,660

• January 2024 average home value: $244,819
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $31,037
• Average mortgage: $1,451
• Average expenditure costs: $1,429
• Livability: 64
• Total monthly costs: $2,880

• January 2024 average home value: $159,781
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $33,750
• Average mortgage: $947
• Average expenditure costs: $1,448
• Livability: 66
• Total monthly costs: $2,395

• January 2024 average home value: $245,286
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $52,143
• Average mortgage: $1,454
• Average expenditure costs: $1,530
• Livability: 64
• Total monthly costs: $2,984

• January 2024 average home value: $283,864
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $41,822
• Average mortgage: $1,683
• Average expenditure costs: $1,467
• Livability: 82
• Total monthly costs: $3,149

• January 2024 average home value: $205,074
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $37,533
• Average mortgage: $1,216
• Average expenditure costs: $1,452
• Livability: 70
• Total monthly costs: $2,667

• January 2024 average home value: $204,007
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $39,453
• Average mortgage: $1,209
• Average expenditure costs: $1,460
• Livability: 59
• Total monthly costs: $2,669

• January 2024 average home value: $240,343
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $34,058
• Average mortgage: $1,425
• Average expenditure costs: $1,427
• Livability: 65
• Total monthly costs: $2,851

• January 2024 average home value: $206,498
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $44,632
• Average mortgage: $1,224
• Average expenditure costs: $1,477
• Livability: 69
• Total monthly costs: $2,701

• January 2024 average home value: $161,985
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $38,250
• Average mortgage: $960
• Average expenditure costs: $1,449
• Livability: 63
• Total monthly costs: $2,409

• January 2024 average home value: $193,492
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $40,476
• Average mortgage: $1,147
• Average expenditure costs: $1,455
• Livability: 59
• Total monthly costs: $2,602

• January 2024 average home value: $272,489
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $42,190
• Average mortgage: $1,615
• Average expenditure costs: $1,455
• Livability: 68
• Total monthly costs: $3,070

• January 2024 average home value: $237,883
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $35,736
• Average mortgage: $1,410
• Average expenditure costs: $1,426
• Livability: 64
• Total monthly costs: $2,836

• January 2024 average home value: $265,045
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $42,208
• Average mortgage: $1,571
• Average expenditure costs: $1,450
• Livability: 66
• Total monthly costs: $3,021

• January 2024 average home value: $254,485
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $52,188
• Average mortgage: $1,508
• Average expenditure costs: $1,493
• Livability: 56
• Total monthly costs: $3,001

• January 2024 average home value: $250,127
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $48,704
• Average mortgage: $1,483
• Average expenditure costs: $1,470
• Livability: 66
• Total monthly costs: $2,953

• January 2024 average home value: $256,815
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $50,852
• Average mortgage: $1,522
• Average expenditure costs: $1,480
• Livability: 63
• Total monthly costs: $3,002

• January 2024 average home value: $275,125
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $59,896
• Average mortgage: $1,631
• Average expenditure costs: $1,493
• Livability: 78
• Total monthly costs: $3,123

• January 2024 average home value: $258,729
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $81,473
• Average mortgage: $1,534
• Average expenditure costs: $1,589
• Livability: 65
• Total monthly costs: $3,123

• January 2024 average home value: $151,487
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $53,125
• Average mortgage: $898
• Average expenditure costs: $1,451
• Livability: 66
• Total monthly costs: $2,349

• January 2024 average home value: $267,122
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $70,478
• Average mortgage: $1,583
• Average expenditure costs: $1,487
• Livability: 68
• Total monthly costs: $3,070

• January 2024 average home value: $225,942
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $75,833
• Average mortgage: $1,339
• Average expenditure costs: $1,497
• Livability: 75
• Total monthly costs: $2,836

• January 2024 average home value: $219,248
• Median household income (ages 65 and over): $75,227
• Average mortgage: $1,300
• Average expenditure costs: $1,461
• Livability: 65
• Total monthly costs: $2,760

Photo disclaimer: Photos are for illustrative purposes only. In many cases, the closest major city outside of the city/county mentioned it the article was used.

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed the cities across Florida to find affordable options if you are retiring in 2024. GOBankingRates started by finding the cities in Florida and their [1] median household income for ages 65 and over as sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey. For each city in Florida, a number of factors were found, including; [2] average single family home value for January 2024 as sourced from the Zillow Home Value Index, the [3] grocery cost-of-living index, [4] healthcare cost-of-living index, [5] utilities cost-of-living index, [6] transportation cost-of-living index, [7] miscellaneous cost-of-living index, all sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces, [8] livability index as sourced from AreaVibes, [9] the 30-year fixed rate national average mortgage rate as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, and the [10] national average expenditure costs for people ages 65 and over, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. Using the fixed rate and the Zillow Home Value Index, and assuming a 10% down payment, the average mortgage for each city can be calculated. Using the cost-of-living indexes and the national average expenditure costs, the average expenditure cost of living for each city can be calculated and, by combining it with the average mortgage, a total cost of living can be calculated. The top 100 places with the cheapest total cost of living were kept for this study. The average mortgage cost was scored and weighted at 1.00, the average expenditure cost was scored and weighted at 1.00, the median household income was scored and weighted at 1.00. All the scores were combined and sorted to show the most affordable cities in Florida to consider if you are retiring in 2024. All data was collected on and is up to date as of March 1, 2024.