Florida vs Texas: Taxes, Housing and the True Cost Compared

If you've decided to leave a high-tax state, Florida and Texas almost always end up on the shortlist. Both have no state income tax. Both have warm climates, growing economies and deep inbound migration. Both have coastal access. From a distance, the choice can look like flavor preference.

Up close, the data tells a sharper story. Property tax, housing cost, insurance, demographics and labor market all diverge meaningfully. This guide lays out the side-by-side using Census ACS5 vintage 2023 plus the most recent published state-tax data.

Income tax: a tie that isn't really a tie

Both states levy zero personal income tax. That's the headline both relocation pitches lead with, and it's true. But the rest of the tax stack differs substantially.

Florida's combined state and local sales tax averages 7.0%. Texas's averages 8.2%. Florida's effective property tax rate is approximately 0.8%, with the Save Our Homes assessment cap (3% annual cap on assessed value growth for primary residences) materially limiting long-term homeowner exposure. Texas's effective property tax rate is approximately 1.7% — roughly double Florida's — with no statewide assessment cap.

What the property-tax gap actually looks like

Take a $400,000 home. Florida's annual property tax bill on that home, with homestead exemption and Save Our Homes, is roughly $2,500–$3,200. Texas's annual property tax bill on the same $400,000 home is roughly $6,000–$7,500.

That's a $3,000–$4,500 annual difference per household — meaningful, and almost exactly the magnitude of state income tax savings a high-earner in Florida picks up vs. a similar earner in California. The 'no income tax' message is doing a lot of heavy lifting; the 'high property tax' counter-message in Texas is doing more lifting than most relocators realize.

Housing cost: Texas wins outside its biggest two metros

Florida's statewide median home value sits in the high $300,000s. Texas's sits in the high $200,000s. That gap holds at the median but inverts in specific cities: Austin's median home value is materially higher than every Florida city except Naples, Palm Beach and Fisher Island ZIPs.

Where Texas wins decisively is the affordability bottom of each state. The cheapest meaningful Texas cities (Brownsville, Laredo, El Paso, Amarillo) have median home values around $130,000–$170,000. The cheapest meaningful Florida cities (Lake City, Marianna, Pensacola) have median home values around $135,000–$220,000. The Texas cheap floor is lower.

The hidden insurance gap

Florida coastal homeowners insurance is the single most-discussed cost-of-living variable on this comparison. Premiums in Miami-Dade, Lee, Collier and Pinellas counties have roughly doubled since 2020. Annual premiums of $5,000–$10,000+ for a single-family home are now routine.

Texas coastal premiums (Galveston, Corpus Christi) have risen too but sit meaningfully below Florida coastal levels. Inland Texas insurance is comparable to inland Florida.

On a $400,000 coastal home, the insurance gap can be $3,000–$6,000 per year — fully cancelling the property-tax advantage Florida nominally has over Texas.

Income and labor market

Statewide median household income: Florida ~$67,000, Texas ~$72,000. Texas pays slightly more on the median, has a more diverse labor market (energy, tech, defense, agriculture, advanced manufacturing), and has the stronger Fortune 500 footprint (Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth alone host more F500 headquarters than the entire state of Florida).

Florida's labor market is concentrated in tourism, healthcare, real estate, finance and the retiree-services economy. Both states have plenty of jobs; the mix is different.

Demographics

Florida is older: median age ~42 statewide. Texas is younger: median age ~35. Florida's 65+ share is roughly 21%; Texas's is roughly 13%. That single demographic fact reshapes housing demand, healthcare infrastructure and political priorities in each state.

Florida's foreign-born share (~21%) is concentrated in Miami-Dade and Broward; Texas's foreign-born share (~17%) is more evenly distributed across the state.

Climate and natural-disaster exposure

Both states are hurricane-exposed. Florida sees more named storms make landfall historically, but Texas's 2017 Hurricane Harvey caused the most economically destructive U.S. hurricane in modern history. Both states have growing flood insurance complications.

Florida's heat is more humid; Texas's is drier and (in West Texas) hotter. Texas has a meaningful tornado risk that Florida has only marginally.

How to decide

If you're a high-earner who rents, Florida wins decisively — no income tax, no property tax exposure, lower sales tax than Texas.

If you're a high-earner who owns a $500k+ home and lives inland (away from coastal insurance pressure), the two states are roughly tied — Florida's property-tax advantage is real but small.

If you're a high-earner who owns a $500k+ home in coastal Florida, Texas almost always wins — the insurance gap eats Florida's tax advantage.

If you're a retiree on Social Security and pension income, Florida wins — both states are tax-friendly to retirement income, but Florida's healthcare infrastructure and existing retiree community make daily life smoother.

Use our compare tool to put any two specific cities side-by-side on Census housing and income data before committing.