ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — New numbers show a lot of people are moving into Florida, but also many living here are moving out.

What You Need To Know

  • This week the Florida Chamber of Commerce published its latest migration trends report, which looks into the number of people moving in and out of the state

  • According to the report, in 2023 Florida saw an inflow of nearly 637,000 people from other states – the highest in the country 

  • However, there were also nearly 511,000 people who left Florida for another state, the largest outflow the state has seen and the second most in 2023, behind only California

This week the Florida Chamber of Commerce published its latest migration trends report, which looks into the number of people moving in and out of the state and the reasons behind it.

Living in a waterfront condo in Ormond Beach with a view of the Atlantic Ocean might sound like dream to many who wish to move to Florida, but according to the findings in the report, fewer people are looking to move to Florida compared to previous years.

According to the report, in 2023 Florida saw an inflow of nearly 637,000 people from other states — the highest in the country. However, there were also nearly 511,000 people who left Florida for another state, the largest outflow the state has seen and the second most in 2023, behind only California. This left Florida with an annual state-to-state net migration of just over 126,000 people.

“Currently, we have more people trying to sell than buy,” said Ormond Beach real estate agent, manager and company trainer for Realty Pros Assured Marsha Evans.

She said her company's offices have seen a reflection of the numbers shown in the report.

“We definitely have seen a significant increase in the volume of listings and homes for sale," she said. "There's been a decrease in the actual sales themselves, but it hasn't been at a devastating level.”

Evans said that one thing to take into consideration is when the numbers are compared with the data from the COVID-19 pandemic, it makes it seem even worse.

“That's when we only were averaging around 600 listings at a time," she said. "We're now over 3,000 listings. There's no comparison because low supply, high demand increases the price.”

Evans said they’ve seen some recent buyers now wanting to sell their homes — some of them listing family reasons.

“What's been interesting to me is that they are a lot of our most recent migrations," she said. "For example, we have one right now that was here for just a few months. They just closed a few months ago and they're already selling and want to go back home. And the reasons for it actually have to do with their children."

According to the report, the high cost of housing was a top motivator for those moving out of Florida in 2023. A quarter of those who left Florida cited cheaper housing as the reason for their move, with the median home listing price increased by nearly 41% from the first quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2024 .

Evans said she spoke with a long-time resident on Thursday who wants to leave Florida and move to South Carolina.

“They said that the cost of living for the housing, and insurance in general, is significantly lower," she said. "In fact, in their case, they're getting a comparable home on acreage in South Carolina at a far lower price point for the house and acreage itself."

However, this trend of increasing home prices is not unique to Florida. Nationally, median listing prices increased by 47%, but personal income per capita increased by only 33%. While not as drastic, rent has also seen increases in Florida, with the increase in median rent slightly outpacing the per capita personal income increase.

The study also revealed another challenge that Floridians have faced in terms of affordability, which has caused more residents to leave the state: the current property insurance crisis.