Florida Is the State Most Americans Want to Live In, According to Poll

On Tuesday, we reported on a story that shows Florida rent is too damned high. But evidently, that doesn't seem to be swaying most Americans looking to move out of their current states, because according to a new poll, Florida tops the list of states people most want to live in. 

The mass-marketing firm Harris Poll conducted an online survey of 2,232 U.S. adults between November 11 and 16 and found that Florida beat out California, Hawaii, Colorado, and New York as states where they'd most like to live.

In fact, according to Harris Poll, Florida is always on top of the list on a year-to-year basis. This despite the fact that Florida can be a national punchline and the whole Florida Man headline phenomenon. 

"California and Florida are well represented among the top 10 most desired cities, with San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco nabbing the 2nd, 4th and 6th spots for the Golden State, while Miami and Orlando bring the 5th and 10th spots home to the Sunshine State," the study reads. 

Broken down generationally and by gender, Florida ranks highest among Baby Boomers and women, according to the poll. While millennials and Gen-Xers preferred California over Florida, the Sunshine State still came in ranked just below Cali.

 
Since 1997, Florida has come out as the number-one state people would like to move to six times. The last time the Sunshine State won the top spot was in 2001. So it's a nice comeback.


Sure, Florida may often rank poorly when it comes to things like medical insurance as well as automobile insurance and, of course, terribly overpriced rent, but it's still basically the weather that makes people long to come down south and make a life.

The warm winters and proximity to the ocean have always been the state's biggest draws and, as the Harris Poll reveals, that remains the case.

Even as places like Colorado and New York continue to crack the top five on this annual poll, it's those specific traits that attract folks to Florida.    

"Sunshine and waterfront acreage are consistent themes at the top of this list, with California and Hawaii rounding out the top three," the study says.


Florida did also crack the top ten in places where people would least want to live — coming in seventh — but screw that. We're number one!