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For decades, Florida was considered a haven for seniors who had saved up much of their lives and eventually moved to the Sunshine State to retire.
But a recent study shows many retirees are souring on staying in the Sunshine State in their golden years and are moving to other states, even years after they initially relocated to Florida. HireAHelper, a website that provides referrals to moving companies, conducted the study “The New Retirement Map” to analyze where seniors are moving.
A total of 2.1 million Americans aged 65 or older moved last year.
The findings concluded that, in 2025, Florida was still drawing the highest number of retirees of any state, with 45,696. But nearly as many seniors were leaving the state, with 44,881 departing Florida, while a net gain of about 800 seniors moved into the state.
HireAHelper analyzed U.S. migration patterns from Porch Group Media Solutions marketing data as the basis for its report.
South Carolina moved into the top slot in 2025 for a net gain in seniors last year, with a pickup of 5,427 retirees. Florida did not even make the top 10 of net gain of seniors in the nation and Mississippi landed in that 10th spot with a net gain of 1,240 more seniors moving to the state.
South Carolina is not only leading the nation with a net gain of seniors; it is also drawing seniors from other states that are traditional retirement Meccas.
“This marked the strongest net growth among all states, positioning South Carolina as one of the fastest-rising retirement destinations (and destinations for older adults in general) in the country. Many people moving to the state are coming from nearby and high-cost states,” the HireAHelper study concluded.
North Carolina had 2,014 seniors move to the Palmetto State, and Florida had 1,862.
Realtor.com, one of the nation’s leading real estate analysis and marketing companies, sounded the alarm that Florida is no longer a permanent retirement spot.
“A confluence of factors have soured things a bit for those who moved to Florida, and now thousands of them are becoming ‘halfbacks’: They’ve moved halfway back north and settled in a state like South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, or Tennessee,” a Realtor.com report concluded.
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