Florida is no longer the retirement haven it once was, according to a recent Bankrate survey that placed it eighth on a list of the best states to retire in the country.

According to the New York-based financial services company’s annual rankings, Delaware is the best state for retirees to thanks to its high-quality healthcare, light tax burden, affordable homeowner insurance and good weather.

Bankrate’s analysis, which considered affordability, overall well-being, the cost and quality of health care, and crime rates for each U.S. state, found that Florida, often considered a retirement hotspot, ranked eighth for the second year in a row. It was behind Delaware, West Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi and Pennsylvania.

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“Ten years ago, Florida would’ve been a no-brainer for retirement. But with skyrocketing home prices, property taxes and homeowners insurance, it’s worth taking a pause to make sure you can afford the retirement lifestyle you want in Florida,” Bankrate analyst Alex Gailey told Newsweek.

While Florida is no longer in the top five, it’s still number eight in Bankrate’s ranking—meaning that it’s still among the most appealing states for American retirees.

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“Florida is a warmer state with several beautiful beaches and golf courses, which are attractive for retirees. It also ranks well in terms of overall well-being and crime,” Gailey said.

“A big perk of flocking to Florida for retirement is that there is no state tax on retirement income like Social Security, pension funds, 401(k)s or IRA. Healthcare costs are also more affordable in Florida compared to the rest of the country, and the quality of healthcare falls in the middle of the pack,” he added.

But the state falls short in other ways for retirees, with its high home prices, high property taxes, high sales tax and high homeowners insurance.

“All of that has risen dramatically in Florida in the last few years,” Gailey said. “Florida is also subject to a lot of natural disasters, particularly hurricanes and flooding, which can be financially devastating.”

The bottom line, according to Gailey, is that Florida isn’t as affordable as it once was for retirees. “Retirees wanting to move to Florida for sunny winters, beaches and affordable health care may have to sacrifice in other areas,” he said.

Why Is Florida No Longer A Retirement Haven?

“Florida has long reigned as the retirement capital of the U.S., thanks to its beachfront living, world-class golf, and stunning ocean views. However, there is a dark side to the Sunshine State,” Kris Bruynson, VP of Marketing and Product for Moneywise, told Newsweek.

“With a considerable strain on overpopulation, increasing hurricane threats, and—most notably—skyrocketing housing and food costs, retirees are being driven away from the state,” he added. “To maintain the same lifestyle as before, newcomers now require significantly larger savings, prompting seniors to rethink their retirement plans.”

In a recent Moneywise survey, Florida was ranked tenth in a list of the states with the highest risk of elderly bankruptcy. The Sunshine State’s estimated risk score was 54.23.

Bruynson said that while Florida ranked 23rd in overall cost of living in their survey, the study uncovered that a staggering one-quarter of the state’s seniors live below 150 percent of the poverty line, ranking it 7th in elderly poverty nationwide.

“Several metro areas in Florida have experienced some of the nation’s fastest-rising inflation. This rapid increase has placed immense pressure on retirees, mainly due to a 73.5 percent surge in home prices over the past five years.”

Utility bills also disproportionately impact seniors, and Florida’s annual electricity costs currently average $2,069—28 percent higher than the national figure.

“Combined with transportation and food expenses reaching $9,300 annually and healthcare costs at $9,501, the financial strain is evident,” said Bruynson.

“Floridian retirees are facing a perfect storm of financial pressures. Housing, utility, and living expenses alone create a challenging environment for seniors, even before factoring in debt, property maintenance, or insurance,” he added.

Will Retirees Stop Flocking To Florida?

The Sunshine State currently has one of the highest shares of people aged 62 and above compared to its population—but that might change in the future.

“If home prices, property taxes and homeowners insurance rates keep climbing, I wouldn’t be surprised if Florida eventually starts losing some of its luster as a retirement hotspot,” Gailey said.

According to Bruynson, Florida’s popularity as a retirement haven is already showing signs of cooling, with a 0.2 percent drop in out-of-state retirees between 2021 and 2023.

“The increasing challenges in Florida could slow retiree migration, but it’s difficult to predict a significant drop,” he said.

“The state’s overall allure will likely continue attracting seniors, but we may see a shift in the types of retirees moving there. Those with larger budgets may still be drawn to the state, but those on fixed incomes might explore alternative locations.”

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Neither the threat of wildfires nor catastrophic flooding have kept thousands of Americans from migrating to locations in Texas and Florida where extreme weather-related disasters are causing increasing damage year after year.

Between July 2022 and July 2023, nearly 69,000 people bought homes in frequent-flood counties in the Sunshine State — including Brevard, Manatee and Lee — according to a new analysis from Redfin. Another roughly 24,000 Americans became new residents in the heaviest flood-risk areas of Texas during that same time period — including in Brazoria and Fort Bend counties — the online real estate brokerage said. 

The inflow of new residents is happening as former residents are fleeing.

“Ballooning insurance costs and intensifying natural disasters are driving thousands of Americans out of risky areas, but those people are quickly being replaced by other people for whom climate change isn’t the top concern,” Redfin Senior Economist Elijah de la Campa said in the report.

Part-time paradise at a steep price

Depending on where they move in the state, new residents in danger-prone areas in Florida should expect to find themselves in the path of a hurricane or other types of severe storms. 

Most recently, Hurricane Debby, the fourth-named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, made landfall on Monday near Steinhatchee, a tiny community in northern Florida with less than 1,000 residents. The hurricane so far has left nearly 300,000 Floridians without power, before being downgraded to a tropical storm.

Moving to Florida and Texas will also likely mean higher homeowners insurance for new residents, as natural disasters have caused  insurance companies to raise annual rates for coverage. 

Homeowners insurance rates have climbed 15% and 36% in Florida and Texas, respectively, between 2022 and 2023, according to data from S&P Global. One resident in Orlando, Florida, told CBS News in June that his home insurance grew to $6,000 from $1,500 a year for a 2024 policy. 

Asked by clients how much they will pay for homeowners insurance in Florida, Rafael Corrales, a Redfin real estate agent based in Miami, said he tells prospective homebuyers that it all depends on how close they want to be to the coast. 

“If you’re looking to buy a home in Florida, you should know that you can’t be close to the water without being in a flood zone,” Corrales said in a statement. “If you’re within three miles of the coastline, Mother Nature is going to pay you a visit,” he said, adding, “That’s the price you pay for living in paradise.”

From one wildfire state to another

Counties with a high risk of wildfires also saw an influx in new residents, with 63,365 more people entering high-fire-risk states in 2023 than the number of those leaving, according to Redfin. 

Leading the trend is Texas.

About 35,000 new residents migrated into wildfire-endangered areas of Texas — including Grayson, Hunt, Midland, Parker and Wise counties, the Redfin analysis shows. That contrasts with the approximately 17,357 Americans who have fled wildfire-prone counties in California — including Lassen, Solano and Napa. The exodus of California residents marks a reversal from 2022, indicating that people may be growing more responsive to fire risk in the Golden State.

Texas has large swaths of undeveloped land that’s near developed land, making some parts of the state especially vulnerable to wildfires, Redfin noted. The Lone Star State had the second-largest number of wildfires last year — 7,102 — second only to California’s 7,364, Redfin said. One reason for the migration from one high-fire-risk area to another, according to the report, is cost of living.

 “For a lot of Americans, things like cost of living and proximity to family take precedence over catastrophe risk, which can feel less immediate and more abstract,” Redfin’s de la Campa said. “But the cost-benefit calculus seems to be shifting in places like California and Florida, where skyrocketing home insurance costs and an uptick in high-profile disasters have had a tangible impact on residents and made national news.”