New study shows trend of young Floridians leaving the state

Has the Sunshine State become too expensive for young people to live here? A new study says yes.

In 2023 alone, more than half a million people left Florida. That is the most the state has ever seen, according to a research report by the Florida Chamber Foundation.

The average age of people moving out of Florida is 32.

According to the report by the Florida Chamber Foundation, one reason people are moving out is the lack of job opportunities.

“I’m in love with Florida. It’s paradise. We live in paradise,” said Sergio Munoz. “I have seen the trend of people leaving, and it’s kinda sad, to be honest.”

The report says in 2023, Florida saw an inflow of nearly 637,000 people from other states,
the highest in the country.

However, nearly 511,000 people also left Florida for another state, making it the largest outflow it has seen and the second-most in 2023, right behind California.

Munoz said he’s had friends and family move out of the state.

“I think the hardest thing right now is the cost of living has gone up a lot, and it’s becoming a lot harder to live here to find a place to live,” said Munoz.

We asked real estate agent Denny Grimes if he is putting more for sale signs in front of homes.

“I have had clients that have had to redo their homes during Ian and redo their homes this past year, and they’re tired of it, and we are having this exodus, and we have more people leaving ’cause of the hurricanes, and it seems more repetitive,” Grimes said.

The cost of living and hurricanes are not the only factors causing people to move away. For people between the ages of 20 and 29, U.S. census data shows that one of the second most cited reasons for moving out of Florida was job opportunities outside of the state.

Grimes also said the real estate industry has seen this before. He said it is a common trend to see a period of time when more people move out of the state.