Florida Residents Need A Salary Of $109,725 A Year To Be Happy

Well, consider me depressed. GOBankingRates has published some fresh data showing how inflation has affected our income needs. And that number is a bit daunting to many of us. They say Florida residents need a salary of nearly $110 thousand a year to be happy. Unfortunately, the median household income in Florida is $61,777 and the average household income is $88,267. So if you wonder why so many people seem mad, well - here it is. Just driving through Fort Myers over to Cape Coral, it's amazing how many people are DWA. Driving While Angry.

First up, inflation. Nearly everything costs more than it used to. But this isn't a Florida specific problem. It's a nationwide issue. Housing and insurance factors greatly as well. Especially here in Florida. If you pay rent, you're probably paying a lot more. Likewise, if you own a home, your insurance is likely a lot more. If you own a vehicle, your insurance is likely a lot more. All of these things stack.

Unemployment is low in Florida at 2.5%. probably because we all have 2 jobs. And, as the article states "While you do need to make a bit more than $109,000 to be happy here, well-being is possible at $62,700." See - $63K a year household income in Florida is a lot more doable. And as I said, the number is much higher in some other states. In Hawaii, the annual salary to be happy is $195,300. In Massachusetts, that number is $157,395. California, with one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, is at $145,635. New York isn't much better, at $142,485. This is why so many of them are moving to Florida. Even with our huge price jumps in real estate and insurance, it's still a better deal than where they're coming from.

Florida is a big state. If you want to live in Miami or any of the other big cities, things are going to be more expensive. And you need to get paid more. Fort Myers, is relatively cheap compared to many other Florida cities. And if you really want to save, move away from the coast. I live in Estero and a quick check showed me that I can get a comparable home in Lakeland for half or what my house is valued at. Here's a look at where people are moving to.

People love Florida. They just keep coming. Whether it's the big metro areas, or smaller cities like Cape Coral, Fort Myers, or Naples, they keep coming. But it's not just Florida. Some of the fastest growing cities are located out west, in Texas and Arizona.  Even Boise, Idaho is seeing some big gains as well. But let's start with where people are leaving.

Financebuzz created a metric to measure cities in decline. They analyzed data from 2019-2022 such as population change and unemployment rate. They also looked at personal income, new businesses, vacancies, home values. Plus another metric which can show a city in decline - percentage of the population that is in debt collections.

San Francisco is listed as the fastest declining city in the US. Even with the recent "homeless cleanup" that went down earlier this month, San Francisco can't avoid that since 2019, according to Financebuzz, the city's population has dropped by 8.29%. Home values are increasing below the national average, plus new home construction and new business openings are below average. New Orleans, and New York round out the top 3 US cities in decline.

Topping the list for the fastest growing city in the US is a city with just over 200,000 people in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area. It's Frisco, Texas. They can't build houses fast enough there (which sounds very familiar to us in Florida). Over 2,200 new homes per 100,000 people were built there last year. An incredible amount considering just 3.5% of housing is vacant. Texas is booming, but if you're really looking for a hotspot, 3 of the top 5 cities on this list are suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona.

Number 6 overall, Orlando's population has gone up by 10% over the past 3 years. Plus, home values have increased 24% higher than the national average. The Lake Nona neighborhood of Orlando is one of the fastest growing communities in the country.

PCL has seen a population boom of 15% over the past few years. And construction is absolutely on fire with 2,385 new homes built per 100,000 people in 2022. This puts it at number 7 on this list. Port St. Lucie is on Florida's East Coast about halfway between Orlando and Miami. Away from the big cities, but easily reachable. 

Coming in at number 9, just behind Huntsville, Alabama, is Miami. And business is the tone for Miami. More than 28,000 new businesses opened per 100,000 people in 2022. Per capita income has also outpaced the nation - but it's not enough. Miami is struggling with housing. Everything is getting so expensive. It's hard to attract new talent when they can't afford housing. If South Florida can't solve this problem, many of the issues that plague California will begin to develop here. We're ok - for now.