According to results from my recent reader survey, cost of living is the #1 topic my readers want to hear more about.
I already have an in-depth article on the cost of living in The Villages, which is of course Florida and the world's most popular retirement community.
But based on this recent feedback I want to take a closer look at the cost of living in some other popular Florida retirement cities and I'm starting with Port St. Lucie.
Let's take a closer look!
Home Prices
The first thing most of you will do just before or the moment you move to Florida is to buy a house.
According to data from FloridaRealtors.org, the average sales price for a home in Florida in 2024 was $549,363. That was up from $527,324 in 2023.
Those of you retiring to Port St. Lucie will automatically be about $40k ahead of the average Florida retiree because the average home price in Port St. Lucie for the same time period was $497,406.
Property Taxes
The next big chunk of change you'll drop while living the Florida retirement dream will be for property taxes.
St. Lucie County comes in with a property tax rate of about 22 mils per thousand.
I go over the entire Florida property tax formula in my book, but to keep things simple here, this means that for every $1,000 of assessed value, you'll be paying about $22.
So let's say your home is assessed for $400,000 the math would be 400 x $22 = $8,800 per year, or about $733 a month.
Fortunately, for those of you planning to live here full-time or at least long enough to claim residency, Florida has some pretty generous homestead exemptions that can reduce your property taxes and keep yearly increases in check.
Again, that's a topic for another day, but you can read more about it in The Florida Retirement Handbook.
Other Costs
The website BestPlaces.net is one of my favorite go-to resources for in-depth data about various cities, and they've looked at the overall cost of living in Port St. Lucie to include other costs like healthcare, groceries, transportation, utilities, and other necessities.
They found that overall Port St. Lucie is about 4.4% less expensive than the state average cost of living, and about 1.4% less than the national average cost of living.
All in all, if cost of living is one of your main concerns when moving to Florida, you could do a lot worse than Port St. Lucie.
Where to Retire in Port St. Lucie
Valencia Parc at Riverland is the newest 55+ community in Port St. Lucie. Valencia Parc at Riverland brings together GL Homes' famous 55+ resort-style living within the amazing 4,000-acre master-planned community of Riverland to create a Florida lifestyle that's second to none!
In this new community, you'll find a million ways to have fun with everything connected through miles of eco-friendly greenways without ever having to get in your car. Walk or ride your golf cart to all the amenities right within your own neighborhood and to nearby shops and restaurants or enjoy a car ride to spend the perfect day at the beach.
You can request more information from the developer right here:
Leave a Reply