Forty Percent of Florida voters Say Cost of Living May Drive them from the Sunshine State

Forty percent of registered Florida voters are likely to leave the state in the next five years because of the rising cost of living, a new poll by MediaLab@FAU found. Other reasons that people said they might leave Florida include record-shattering heat, increased hurricane activity – and the overall political climate.

The MediaLab poll was conducted from April 4 to April 9 by Mainstreet Research, in conjunction with Florida Atlantic’s PolCom Lab.  A total of 961 registered Florida voters over the age 18 participated in this poll, which aimed at giving readers a broader picture of public opinion across the Sunshine state. The poll’s release coincides with President Trump’s first 100 days in office and the final days of the Florida legislative session.

Amber Campell, who lives in Venice, Fla. with her husband, said they are planning to leave Florida this summer. She moved there from Colorado in 2019.

“We are leaving because we can’t afford another hurricane season, especially now that FEMA is cut off,” said Campbell, 33, in a Facebook post that led to a follow-up interview with MediaLab.

“We suffered a lot during the hurricanes, Ian, Milton, and Helene,” said Campbell, who is originally from West Virginia and is planning to move back this summer, although she hasn’t lived there since the age of 9. She works in the restaurant industry, and during the worst of the storms last year, she was out of work for a month with no compensation. Her husband’s workplace was also flooded and is being demolished, she said.

Out of the 12 largest cities in Florida, four are more expensive than the national average, with Miami and Fort Lauderdale leading in costliness. Both cities are close to 20% more expensive than the national average. The data on consumer goods, services and home prices are sourced from the Cost of Living Index published by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER), and was updated in March 2025.

“If I were to ever leave it would be because of the cost of living,” said Jacqueline Romano, 24, who lives in Englewood, which is also on Florida’s West Coast. “I’m born and raised in Florida and can’t believe how much cheaper it is to live in some other states.”

Florida actually clocks in at 2% lower than the national average cost of living, but that’s due to how large and diverse the state is. Many small towns in Florida are more affordable due to their location. However, the lack of job opportunities in these areas are usually the reason residents move to bigger cities like Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

For some in South Florida, it’s difficult to imagine feeling at home anywhere else. That may be particularly true for people with roots in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“As a Latino, I feel a strong sense of community here,” said Gabriel Alves, a bartender living in Boca Raton. “The presence of Brazilian markets, restaurants and events often makes me feel like I’m back in Brazil, and that sense of familiarity is incredibly comforting.” 

While cost of living was the main reason for people leaving Florida, hurricanes and heat have also been noted as a reason to leave Florida. The poll found that 27% of voters feel that the climate is a reason to get out of Florida, an answer that could encompass rising temperatures, worsening hurricanes and persistent flooding.

In 2024, Floridians saw three hurricanes make landfall.The last time Florida got hit by three hurricanes was in 2020 with Hanna, Isais, and Sally.

Florida has roughly a 30% chance of seeing a major hurricane (Category 3+) in 2025, according to the Colorado State University annual Atlantic Hurricane Forecast. This is a 6% increase of what it was in 2020. With waters getting warmer in the Atlantic this number has a potential to rise even more in the following years.

Many Florida homeowners are worried about even more harmful potential major hurricanes, especially ones living on the west coast whose homes have been damaged over the last few years due to these hurricanes. 

“I have seen a pattern of them no longer hitting the east coast of Florida and now all seem to be going into the gulf,” said Matthew Marhefka, 41, CEO of Glades Talent. “Most of the houses on the gulf side were not constructed to hurricane standards and the impact from the storms is much more severe when they hit.”

Apart from hurricanes and the cost of living,  14% of Florida residents said that the political climate of the state would be a reason to leave, and 20% chose “other reasons.” 

In last November’s election, Florida leaned solidly red. Trump won just over 56% of the vote, and of 28 available House seats, 22 were won by Republicans. Gov. Ron DeSantis also succeeded in defeating two citizen-generated amendments he campaigned against: one that would have restored the right to abortion through viability, and one that would have legalized recreational marijuana.

Florida was once a famously purple state, and had more Democratic voters than Republicans in 2020. But now registered Republicans far outnumber Democrats – by about 1.2 million voters. Many Florida residents who lean Democratic feel their political views are no longer represented and don’t want to live in a state that doesn't match their morals.

“I’m not satisfied with the current political climate in Florida because it feels very divided,” said Brian Cushen, 23, a University of Central Florida student who lives in Orlando. “It feels like you’re almost in a different country and it feels like a state that hasn’t unified itself.”