WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — We've heard from many of you trying to budget your finances as the cost of living, insurance and many other factors have made it difficult to get by.
"Grocery prices, rent, you know, all that is getting higher, and they’re not paying any more," said Kwame Ratliff, who lives in West Palm Beach. "I am looking to move, because it is a little expensive here."
According to personal finance website WalletHub, Florida ranked Florida number 49, nearly dead last as the least affordable state.
"What should we do to kind of get that ranking up?" asked WPTV reporter Joel Lopez.
"Well for starters, maybe make the state a little more affordable," said Chip Lupo, a writer and analyst with WalletHub.
Lupo said that affordability is factored in housing costs, income, debt and more.
This is part of their study, which ranked the best and worst states to raise a family, in which Florida ranked 33.
The study was based on 5 factors which ranked Florida for the following:
Family fun - 8
Health and safety - 36
Education and child care - 27
Affordability - 49
Socioeconomics - 39
"It has its areas for improvement, but you can’t beat Florida," said Sandhy Alvaree.
According to WalletHub you can. They said Florida's 33 ranking is two spots lower than last year when it ranked 31.
In the study, Florida's socioeconomic ranking was also low, dropping 10 spots from 2024 when it was at ranked 29. Lupo said the drop in Florida's socioeconomic ranking is due to a rise in population.
"People come from different states, different types of values, different socioeconomic backgrounds," Lupo said. "People may have fled high income and crime ridden cities, and maybe they bring some of that baggage with them— all of that a number of factors come into play."
Some positives in the study, were that the health and safety in Florida went up five spots this year from last year's 41st ranking.
Florida was 8th overall in family fun, but it's lower than the 6th spot it received in 2024.
Affordability, while low, is one spot higher at 49 than last year when Florida ranked as the worst, landing the number 50 spot.
Overall, WalletHub said last year Florida ranked 31st so the state has fallen two spots.
They said this year, the best state to live in is Massachusetts, and the worst is new Mexico.
