Moving from Texas to Florida

Why this route is so well travelled

Texas is the second largest source of new Florida residents. It is also the one comparison where the usual Florida sales pitch does not apply, because you are already living in a state with no income tax.

So let us be direct about it. Neither state taxes your income, your pension, your Social Security or your estate. If someone tells you Florida will cut your tax bill the way it does for a New Yorker, that is not true for you, and you would find out soon enough.

What does differ is property tax, and that difference is substantial. Texas funds its schools and local government through property tax instead of income tax, which puts the statewide effective rate at about 1.40 percent. Most Florida counties sit between 0.72 and 0.96 percent. On a comparable home that gap is the whole story, and it repeats every year you own.

Two things worth understanding before you compare

Property tax is the real difference, and it compounds. Texas carries a statewide effective rate near 1.40 percent because property tax does the work income tax does elsewhere. Most Florida counties fall between 0.72 and 0.96 percent. On the median home the Texas bill runs about $3,979 a year, while median bills in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Orange and Hillsborough land between roughly $2,474 and $3,890, on homes that are generally worth more.

Two details matter when you run your own numbers. Texas raised its school district homestead exemption to $140,000 in November 2025, with another $60,000 and a school tax freeze at 65, so your current bill may already be lower than the statewide figure suggests. Florida works differently: a smaller exemption but a tighter cap, holding annual assessed value growth to 3 percent or CPI rather than the 10 percent Texas allows. Over a long ownership the tighter cap is what pulls the Florida number down. Compare your actual Texas bill against a Florida estimate from the county property appraiser, and remember Florida reassesses at market value on January 1 of the year after a sale.

Insurance, where Texas is closer to Florida than most people realise. Texas is among the five most expensive states in the country for home insurance. The Texas Department of Insurance puts the statewide average at $3,291, and consumer analyses that assume higher coverage put it between about $3,900 and $4,900. Texas has more billion dollar weather events than any other state, and hail alone drove close to $5 billion in Texas losses in 2024.

Florida works the same way, just around a different peril and with a wider spread. Inland counties such as Sumter, Marion, Alachua and Lake average roughly $1,600 to $3,600 a year, the Gulf coast and I-4 corridor run higher, and Miami-Dade sits near $6,000 with Monroe, the Keys, near $7,800. If you are coming from Houston, Galveston or the hail corridor north of Dallas, an inland or central Florida quote may land at or below what you pay now.

Roof age is the largest single rating factor in Florida, so newer construction or documented wind mitigation features cut the premium considerably, and both states use percentage wind or hail deductibles you should read carefully. 2026 also brought Florida's first meaningful rate reductions in four years, with Citizens cutting an average of 8.7 percent statewide and Broward down roughly 17 percent. If you are looking at a condo, the association master policy covers the building, so your own policy runs closer to $1,000 to $1,800 and the building coverage sits inside your monthly association fee instead. Flood coverage is priced separately in both states.

Common questions about moving from Texas

These answers use the sources named in each one. Rates and figures change, so please check each source yourself before you rely on a number.