Florida now has massive departures as hundreds of thousands of residents leave according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The report shows that over 275,000 people left Florida and moved to another state in 2022.
Of those leaving Florida, 46,884 moved to Georgia, 42,301 moved to North Carolina, 36,200 to Tennessee, 31,456 to South Carolina, and 29,975 relocated to Texas.
Experts have weighed in stating that Florida residents are moving out of the state primarily due to the increasingly high insurance rates.
Newsweek reported, “Home insurance premiums have tripled in the state in the past five years, with residents currently paying on average more than $4,200 per year. The national average is $1,700.”
“When you have a home that’s one million dollars or less, your insurance premium becomes higher than your mortgage,” says Oscar Seikaly, chief executive of NSI Insurance Group.
The Wall Street Journal reported that even the mayor of Palm Beach County, Gregg Weiss, has decided to drop his insurance when the premium doubled to about $20,000.
“I know a lot of people who have done the same thing. The market doesn’t make sense anymore,” said the mayor.
While many residents are leaving Florida, California departures still significantly outweigh the state.
343,000 people left California and moved to another state in 2022, the highest number of any state in the country.
Of those leaving California, 102,000 moved to Texas, 74,000 to Arizona, 50,000 to Florida, and 48,000 to Nevada.
The rising costs of living, especially in younger people, are the primary cause of departures according to experts.
“We are losing younger folks, and I think we will see people continuing to migrate where housing costs are lower,” says Manuel Pastor, a professor at the University of Southern California.