As you may know, Florida is a popular destination for retirement because it has no state income tax, but unless you plan on renting all throughout your retirement, you won't be able to escape paying property taxes.
Today let's take a look at the Florida Counties with the highest and lowest median property taxes.
Now keep in mind, a county's median property taxes doesn't mean that's what your property taxes will be, and they don't tell the whole story about how expensive or inexpensive an area will be to live in.
The exact location and price (value) of the home you choose will play a big role, and depending on which community you purchase a home in, you might be subject to other fees (such as CDD's).
So, its wise to take all factors into account when making your final purchase decision.
Onward to the data.
Florida Counties With the LOWEST Median Property Taxes
Dixie – $503
Holmes – $555
Jackson – $630
Hamilton – $668
Washington – $687
Liberty – $695
Calhoun – $725
Franklin – $726
Levy – $735
Madison – $736
Florida Counties With the HIGHEST Median Property Taxes
Hillsborough – $2,168
Lee – $2,197
St. Lucie – $2,198
Martin – $2,315
Collier – $2,399
Broward – $2,664
Monroe – $2,673
Palm Beach – $2,679
St. Johns – $2,702
Miami-Dade – $2,756
Source: Tax-Rates.org
For visual reference here's a map of where each Florida County is located:
You can learn more about how to figure out your taxes in my Guide to Florida Real Estate Taxes.)
If you're worried about the cost of your property taxes, keep in mind that Florida does offer some property tax relief in the form of Homestead Exemptions which can help quite a bit if you qualify for them.
There are plenty of retirement communities in Florida without a CDD. Property taxes are on par with many other states. If you live a little further inland, homeowners insurance is not that bad. I pay approximately $250 per $100K of home value. The fact there is no state tax, the weather is never above 100 degrees, makes Florida still one of the best places, in the country, to retire.
Reading about the people who moved from Florida to north of Atlanta, yes it would be cheaper. I lived and worked there for 40 some years. It can get really cold there in the winter and then there is the ocean. People that are moving to the mountains love the mountains. People who are moving to Florida love the ocean and year round warm and hot weather. Oh, and it can get really hot in Georgia in the summer. I was there with 100 degree weather for 30 days. And we had a five year drought. Lake Lanier almost disappeared. Different strokes for different folks. I moved to a small home in Florida and am thrilled that I don’t have to clean so much house. I’m here to be outside and walk on the beaches. Yes somethings are more and somethings are less. Decide what makes you happy.
It all depends where you are moving FROM . We are building at The Villages and even with the CDD bond the $ situation is much better than NY. A BIG factor is that none of our retirement money is taxable on the state level and there are NO estate taxes. We have paid as much as 50K in New York state taxes on our tax return. Our house tax assessment was about $30 per thousand so our house assessed at 600k had a property tax bill of a hefty 18K and climbing with property values going up. Yes Tennessee along with Texas and Wyoming ert are cheaper places to live IF that is where you want to be. To us northeast retirees Florida is a BARGAIN!
I agree. House is twice the size of our prior CO home and was 70,000 less. Since purchasing our 4,300 sq foot home in land o lakes, it has gone up $250,000 (in 9 months). You read that right. The beach(clearwater beach) is 30 min away by Suncoast hwy. No snow! Tropical paradise! We love it here!! Taxes are not as bad if you figure in no state income tax. They have a lot of exemptions available. Plus, our governor is amazing.
We own a condo in Gulf Shores, AL. Was thinking of Florida for a retirement home but after reading here think we will look elsewhere.
I just moved to Kissemme Florida from Maryland and my car Insurance is much cheaper. I wanted a smaller home because it’s a retirement property and want low maintenance as I still own my home in Maryland. I love Florida and my taxes are reasonable and much cheaper too. No state taxes is a PLUS! You must try it for yourself and not listen to others. After all, you can always sell your house if you not happy.
I live in NYC and bought a condo in Kissimmee a few years ago to retire and I cant wait to live here, low cost of living, lower taxes, no state tax, cheaper car insurance, great weather year round , not much traffic, friendly people, alot of fine restaurants, shopping, tennis, golf, theme parks etc,
Ken and Denise said it all. We are also moving from Chicago area to Florida and find it very difficult to really understand what our costs will be. It is crazy. As Denise stated, the listing real estate tax is not what I will pay when they reaccess. How does one figure that out? Also, we are concerned about insurance. I have heard wild estimates. Lastly, we really want the warmth of the SW area of Florida but we may have to consider other areas. Any suggestions?
When we first decided on the area, North of Tampa, I said to my wife, we can afford a house on the water, but flood insurance was about the same as a mortgage payment each month, plus regular homeowners, so not really that affordable. We ended up buying about 10 miles inland on high ground, so no flood insurance. Our homeowners is about the same as in Delaware because even though we were on high ground, we were bicycling distance to the beach, so still in the hurricane and nor’easter zone. My advice on insurance is to make sure flood insurance is not required. If it’s required it is very costly, if it’s not in a flood zone, flood insurance is cheap. I think regular homeowners is expensive all over the state due to hurricane risk. I think there are decent deals in SW FL, but we wanted more space and less traffic, that was my biggest problem with that area. Good luck and have fun, we looked at the area we ended up in four times over a two year period, looking at things like traffic at different times of day, impact of tourists and snowbirds on resources at different times, the area we ended up in is known for ecotourism, so people stay for short visits and because it does get pleasantly cool during the winter, not as many people have second homes in our community, but still quite a few. Much different that the seasonal beach resort we left.
I used to live in Palm Beach County. When I retired 3 years ago I could no longer afford to live there. We moved to the hills north of Atlanta and now have a house twice the size of our FL concrete pillbox and our property taxes are only $500 per year and house insurance is only $480 a year. Plus the people here are much nicer. It is a joy to live here.
BOOMERS BEWARE…Florida is not the bargain everyone thinks it is. THE PROPERTY TAXES ARE HIGH, sales tax is also high @7%. Then you have insurance and association dues. If you take the time to calculate all that…not at all a bargain for a state that has a population of 19 million and a very high crime rate and the number one state for pediphiles/sex offenders! Wow! Florida is not all that its marketed as especially for boomers. Where are the intelligent people!
Ken & Denise, we have lived in Florida for 20 years and are looking to go elsewhere to retire. The taxes and insurance has gotten to be so unaffordable, especially in retirement years. Our home is 3500 sq ft in Brevard County and our taxes are 4500 and our insurance is 4200 annually. We just looked at a 5500 sq ft home in Central Tennessee and the taxes were 996 and the insurance was 897, so right away we have a 6K year raise……Auto insurance is extremely high here in Florida as well…..we will save over 40% on auto insurance when we move. Property values are fairly low considering what you get…..we have 2.5 acres and are looking to get at least that much property when we move and are finding the pricing on comparable size houses and lot size to be about the same.
I agree with both Ken and Denise, the cost of both insurance and taxes are a real wildcard. We are getting ready to retire out of Florida after 30 years here. I would really warn anyone to think twice before moving here. If you find any home that is not crazy expensive you will probably be living in a claustrophobic tiny house. That is why we are leaving, along with the fact that the weather has become more oppressive with each passing year. It is basically too hot to do any outdoor activities for at least 6 months a year. The only way I would recommend any one to retire here is if they can afford to be snowbirds and spend at least 6 months a year elsewhere.
I agree w/the comments that Ken Schulter made above. We are planning to move to Florida from Illinois, primarily because we are in need of a “weather lifestyle change”. I really am not finding it to be that inexpensive to buy a home in Florida… the costs/square foot really aren’t that low, add in the HOAs, CDDs… and, it can get to be quite expensive to maintain a home in Florida. What is really confusing to me is the cost of insurance… that truly is a wildcard. We originally were considering the Gulf area, but, between sinkhole coverage, hurricane coverage… it just was silly. I wish that when the realtors list the homes they would llist such things as how much insurance is for that particular home. They list the taxes, but, that really doesn’t apply as the taxes will be based on the new selling price. I have looked at thomes where they list taxes as $2500/year… but, w/the higher sales price the taxes for me would be closer to $6,000/year. It is very, very difficult to quantify the costs!
Not worth the taxes , You can go live on the water in NC for a fourth of what they want in taxes in FL.
FL is a consideration for a possible retirement home. After scanning the FL for Boomers site, it is becoming somewhat confusing. I see there are CDD’s, possible HOA’s, property tax concerns, and then I understand that it is a very high cost for home insurance to cover for floods, hurricanes, and sinkholes. So while the cost of a home might be cheaper than other parts of the country, is FL really a bargain when you add up these costs? I would sure like to find more than anecdotal references on the web that can provide very clearly stated facts. Otherwise, I might be wasting my time to consider FL as a destination for lower cost living. BTW, I am also hearing of high crime rates in many parts of FL. As the economy tanks, I believe that crime peaks. So again, I am really trying to look past the rosy pictures and see the real FL. Thanks if you can help and be honest.
Wow! I know I get quite a few customers who end up purchasing in Naples over Palm Beach partly because of the taxes but I had no idea they were almost double over there. That’s a big difference!