The Halfback Trend: 6 Reasons Why Florida Retirees Are Leaving for Tennessee and Georgia

A “For Sale” sign goes up in a Fort Myers cul-de-sac, and the northern-born couple it belongs to aren’t headed off to assisted living.

They chased the Florida dream two decades ago. Now they’re pointing their moving truck halfway back.

These are the reasons retirees are leaving Florida for Tennessee and Georgia.

Note: This is general information, not financial or tax advice. Tax rules and dollar amounts are subject to change, so confirm details with a professional.

1. The Insurance Bill

Fewer things push a Florida retiree toward the state line faster than the yearly homeowners insurance renewal.

Florida runs the most expensive home insurance in the country, averaging about $7,136 a year, per Insurance.com.

That’s nearly three times the national average of $2,543.

Tennessee owners pay around $2,958, and Georgia owners pay closer to $2,323.

Do the math.

A couple trading Tampa for Chattanooga can shave a few thousand dollars off the budget before they unpack a single box, and every hurricane season only widens that gap.

2. What the House Costs

The house itself costs less the moment Florida retirees cross into Tennessee or Georgia.

Zillow pegs the typical Florida home at about $377,578, down 3.3% over the past year.

Tennessee’s typical value sits near $336,445 on the same Zillow data, and Georgia’s near $334,465.

That’s a roughly forty-grand difference.

A spread like that lets a downsizing couple sell a coastal condo, buy a roomier place near Knoxville or in the north Georgia foothills, and pocket the change for travel.

Florida values slid over the past year while Tennessee’s edged up, so the window on that trade keeps shifting for anyone still weighing the jump.

3. Property Taxes

Property taxes chase Florida retirees out the door too, and Tennessee’s rank among the lowest anywhere.

Tennessee’s effective property tax rate runs about 0.52%, against Florida’s 0.78% and Georgia’s 0.79%, according to Rocket Mortgage.

Barely half.

Counties write those rates in mills.

A mill means you pay $1 for every $1,000 of your home’s taxable value, so a home taxed on $300,000 at 10 mills owes $3,000 a year.

Georgia sits nearly even with Florida on the rate, so the tax break there is thinner than the mountain scenery suggests.

Florida’s homestead exemption, the break that trims the taxable value of your primary home, rewards longtime owners, but new arrivals start fresh at today’s higher assessments.

4. A Summer That Won’t Quit

The heat wears Florida retirees down long before the insurance bill does.

Over a 30-year stretch, Miami logged a heat index of 95 degrees or higher on more than 3,000 days, versus under 1,000 for Nashville and around 800 for Atlanta.

Big difference.

Knoxville and the Blue Ridge foothills hand retirees four real seasons, cooler nights, and a fall that arrives before Thanksgiving.

Many transplants who once loved the endless summer decide, twenty Julys later, that they miss a sweater.

5. Crowds and Traffic

The crowds Florida retirees moved south for eventually became the crowds they moved to escape.

Interstate 4 through Orlando and Interstate 95 down the Atlantic coast can turn a quick errand into a lost afternoon.

Then tourists arrive.

Booming metros like Tampa and Fort Lauderdale keep adding rooftops faster than they add road lanes.

So, retirees who wanted a slower pace start eyeing Chattanooga’s riverfront or a Georgia mountain town where the drugstore parking lot never fills.

6. Everyday Costs

Everyday spending stretches further once Florida retirees settle in Tennessee or Georgia.

Florida’s cost of living index reads 102.2 against the national baseline of 100, while Tennessee sits at 90.3 and Georgia at 92.5.

Groceries, utilities, and a haircut all ring up a little lower.

Small stuff.

None of it changes life overnight.

Stack the smaller electric bill on a cheaper mortgage and a smaller insurance premium, though, and a fixed retirement income covers noticeably more month to month.

The Tax Angle Most People Get Wrong

One thing doesn’t explain the halfback move, and it’s the reason most people would guess first: Income tax.

Florida and Tennessee both charge zero state income tax.

So, a retiree heading to Tennessee gives up nothing on that front.

Tennessee dropped its last income tax, the Hall tax on interest and dividends, back in 2021.

Georgia does tax income at a flat 5.19%, but it exempts most retirement money and taxes no Social Security at all.

Georgians 65 and older can shield up to $65,000 of retirement income apiece, per AARP, which covers a comfortable pension for many couples.

Tennessee does claw some of that savings back at the register.

Its combined state and local sales tax averages about 9.61%, the second highest in the nation, next to Florida’s 6.98% and Georgia’s 7.49%.

Where Retirees Are Landing

The migration math tells the story better than any glossy brochure.

More than 2.1 million Americans 65 and older moved in 2025, and Florida ended the year with a net gain of just 815 retirees, according to Florida Trend.

For a state built on the retirement dream, nearly breaking even marks a sharp turn.

A Florida Atlantic University poll from the fall of 2025 found nearly half of Florida residents had considered leaving over the cost of living, with 80% worried about housing.

South Carolina drew the most net retiree gains of any state in 2025, with Texas, North Carolina, and Tennessee close behind on the same Florida Trend tally.