It’s no secret that Florida isn’t the cheapest place to live, with the cost of living and buying a home varying significantly throughout the state.
A massive influx of new residents made Florida one of the most popular U.S. states to move to from 2021 through 2023. In 2022, it became the country’s fastest-growing state for the first time since 1957, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
But the pandemic-fueled mass migration to Florida has slowed dramatically since last year. According to a May 2025 report on nationwide moving trends from moving and storage company PODS, massive waves of people are still moving to the Southeast — but most are opting for Appalachian states, like the Carolinas and Tennessee, largely due to financial reasons and worsening severe weather impacts.
Some less-populated areas are seeing substantially more affordable prices than the most populated metropolitan areas. One Florida city even made personal finance company WalletHub’s list of the top 15 best real estate markets in the U.S. for 2025.
And while some areas are ranking for affordability, other areas in Florida are ranking among the most expensive real estate markets in the U.S.
In August, the National Association of Realtors released a report on home price increases in the second quarter of 2025, with two metropolitan areas in Florida ranking in the top 25 most expensive. Two real estate markets in Florida made the list.
Here are the Florida real estate markets that made the list of the most expensive in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2025.
Most expensive real estate markets in the U.S.: Here’s which Florida markets rank
The August report from the National Association of Realtors found that three out of four metro areas posted home price increases in the second quarter of 2025, but that’s still lower than the first quarter figures.
“Seventy-five percent of metro markets (170 out of 228) registered home price gains in the second quarter of 2025,” the report says. “This is down from 83% in the first quarter. Five percent of metro areas recorded double-digit price gains in the second quarter, down from 11% in the first quarter of 2025.”
Still, two Florida metro areas made it onto the list of the top 25 most expensive: the Naples metropolitan area and the Miami metropolitan area.
Here are the top 25 most expensive U.S. housing markets based on median price during the second quarter of 2025, according to the National Association of Realtors report:
What is the average cost of living in Florida?
According to 2023 Census Bureau data, the median annual income in Florida is approximately $73,000.
The cost of living in Florida varies greatly depending on where you live. Heavily populated areas like the Miami metropolitan area, Tampa or the Orlando area are all inherently more expensive than the small towns near them.
For example, according to Zillow’s housing market estimates, the average cost to buy a home in the small town of Chattahoochee (one of the most affordable towns in the U.S.) is around $116,000, while the average cost to buy a home in the nearby state capital, Tallahassee, is around $294,000.
According to personal finance company SoFi, the average total personal consumption cost in Florida is $50,689 per year.
Here’s how SoFi broke that cost down:
Contributing: Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette Journal
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: 2 Florida real estate markets are among top 25 most expensive in US, here’s where
Reporting by Lianna Norman, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
