Florida Retirement: How Much the Average 65-Year-Old in Florida Spends Monthly
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Daria Uhlig
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Retiring in Florida is as American as Barbie and apple pie. The Sunshine State continues to attract the most retirees from elsewhere, even as other states have encroached on its lead in recent years. Florida also ranks as the top state for retirement in 2024 based on various factors analyzed by WalletHub.
The Sunshine State ranked high because of its “relatively low taxes” for retirees — including no estate, inheritance or income taxes, WalletHub noted. The costs of adult day healthcare and homemaker services are also lower in Florida than in most other states.
A separate analysis by Finance Buzz released last month found that the cost of living in Florida is about 1% higher than the national average, though a lot of it depends on where you live. Costs can get pricey in tourist hotspots like Miami and Orlando, while cities like Pensacola and Tallahassee are much more affordable.
For example, the median Florida home price as of 2022 was $414,000, according to Finance Buzz. That was slightly below the U.S. median of $457,475. However, the median home price in Florida ranges from $265,000 in Hendry County in the middle of the state to $472,000 in Collier County on the Gulf of Mexico.
In its analysis, Finance Buzz assumed a retirement age of 65 years and a retirement period of 18 years. It found that a family of two retirees without dependents would need $57,628 a year to have a “living wage” in Florida. That breaks down to about $4,800 a month. Over the course of 18 years, an average retired couple would need to have about $1.04 million.
Here’s a further breakdown of typical monthly costs for a 65-year-old in Florida:
- Rent: A one-bedroom apartment in the Ft. Lauderdale area costs anywhere from $1,000 to more than $1,800 per month, while in Tallahassee it’s usually less than $1,000 per month.
- Groceries: The average monthly cost of groceries in Florida is about $444 per person vs. $415 in the U.S. overall.
- Utilities: The average utility bill in Florida is about $130 a month.
- Homeowners insurance: Florida is the most expensive state in the country for homeowners insurance, according to Finance Buzz. Residents paid an average of $7,722 in annual premiums in 2022, or about $643 a month. That was more than four times the national average.
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