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Moving to Florida? West Coast vs. East Coast

Learn about the differences between the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts of Florida

This page has been created to help give you a top-level overview of the Florida coasts to aid you in your research of selecting a Florida destination to call home. We will overview the most popular and fastest-growing Florida cities that people are currently moving to, compare and contrast the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast beaches, and provide you with a breakdown of real estate prices around the state to show you how much house you can obtain for your budget on each side of the state.

Which Florida Cities are People Moving To?

As the 3rd largest state by total population, Florida has long been a popular retirement destination for many with its mild winters, beautiful beaches and reasonable housing prices, but what exactly are the most popular and fastest growing cities in the state? To best answer this question, we reviewed several reputable data sources including U-Haul’s recent ranking reports (2024, 2023) which comprise more than 2.5-million truck-sharing transactions that occur annually, to see the Florida cities and the coasts that trucks were most being driven to as one-way trips. We additionally reviewed the U.S. Census Bureau’s list of fastest growing cities in the U.S. (2023) as well as the fastest growing places in the country by U.S. News & World Report (2024) whose study analyzed the net migration of each metro area’s population over the past five years. The net result of these studies is that the fastest-growing Florida cities are overwhelmingly the same destinations that U-Haul trucks are being driven to as one-way trips, meaning that each data source validates the other. Below is a listing of these growing cities by Florida coast.

Gulf Coast

• Panama City
• Tampa Bay (Brandon - Riverview)
• Sarasota
• North Port
• Fort Myers (Cape Coral)

Central Florida

• Ocala
• Orlando (Kissimmee - Clermont)
• Lakeland

Atlantic Coast

• Jacksonville
• Daytona Beach
• Melbourne (Palm Bay)
• Port Saint Lucie
• Miami

Sources:
U-Haul Top U.S. Growth Cities (2024)
U-Haul Top U.S. Growth Cities (2023)
U.S. News & World Report Fastest Growing Places (2024)
U.S. Census Bureau Fastest Growing U.S. Cities (2023)

Fastest Growing Florida Cities that People are Moving To

Gulf Coast vs Atlantic Coast Beaches

While Florida is home to many of the nation's top beaches, which commonly receive top reviews and accoldates by TripAdvisor and other popular review sites each year, let's take a look at the actual differences between the two Florida coasts and how beaches are different. Florida's Gulf Coast, which is famous for its powder-like, white-sand beaches and emerald-hued waters, offers beachgoers a slightly warmer water temp (up to 5° more in the summer months) and calmer waters which is great for watersport activities such as stand-up paddleboarding and kayaking. With its whiter, brighter sand, it doesn't retain the heat of the sun and will feel cool to the touch even on the hottest Florida day.

Florida's Atlantic Coast beaches, by contrast, have more of a light brown, golden tone to them and will feel warmer to the touch. Florida's east coast beaches are also usually windier due to the Atlantic Coast breeze. This creates larger waves and is much bettrer for surfing, especially in the areas of New Smyrna Beach, Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach. Another difference between the coasts is that beachgoers to the Atlantic beaches will often see large cruise and cargo ships in the distance as these are designated shipping channels.

Florida Real Estate Prices by Coast

While researching various Florida cities prior to your relocation to the sunshine state, it's important to understand how far your dollars will actually go. For your convenience, we have listed the average price per square foot (based upon Feb 2025 prices) for popular destinations on each Florida coast to give you an approximate of how much house you can get for your budget. As a general overview, north Florida offers the best value per square foot while the Gold Coast region of Florida (Palm Beach south to Miami) offers some of the most expensive Florida real estate. While these numbers represent the average price per square foot per city, keep in mind that properties with waterfront and/or golf course views will likely be much higher. Also be sure to check out our how expensive is it to live in Florida page where we review the median price of home sales data for Florida's 22 MSA city regions and visually plot these on a Florida map by color intensity.

Age of Florida Residents

Based upon the latest Census Data, the following shows the average age of Florida residents per city on the Gulf Coast, Atlantic Coast and Central Florida. With the average age of Florida residents being 42.7 years old, the sunshine state actually ranks 5th in the nation for oldest populations (Maine currently takes the #1 slot with an average age of 44.8 years per resident). While the larger metropolitan markets of Florida are home to its younger residents, popular smaller-sized cities such as Venice, Naples, Vero Beach, Cocoa Beach and Palm Beach are home to many of Florida’s older residents as these locations are popular retirement destinations for many.

Florida Hurricane Hits by Coast

Although most may not think about hurricane’s when relocating to Florida, it’s important to understand the possibility of one during hurricane season (Jun 1 – Nov 30) and to plan for it when purchasing your Florida home. For your convenience, we have listed the strong category 3, 4 and 5 hurricanes which have made a Florida landfall in the past 100 years. Although a hurricane can hit anywhere along Florida’s coasts, history shows us that the Florida keys and the warmer, shallower waters of the Florida panhandle are more prone to receiving a direct landfall. Ever since Hurricane Andrew made landfall in 1992, Florida building codes have greatly increased to handle the strong winds of these powerful storms. Also important to consider is the land elevation of your new Florida home as often the water surge, vs the strong winds, can be what causes damage should a direct landfall occur.

Gulf Coast

• Michael
  Cat 5
  Mexico Beach
  2018
• Helene
  Cat 4
  Perry
  2024
• Ian
  Cat 4
  Cayo Costa
  2022
• Irma
  Cat 4
  Cudjoe Key
  2017
• Charley
  Cat 4
  Captiva Island
  2004
• Milton
  Cat 3
  Siesta Key
  2024
• Idalia
  Cat 3
  Keaton Beach
  2023
• Dennis
  Cat 3
  Santa Rosa
  2005
• Wilma
  Cat 3
  Cape Romano
  2005
• Ivan
  Cat 3
  Gulf Shores
  2005
• Eloise
  Cat 3
  Destin
  1975

Atlantic Coast

• Andrew
  Cat 5
  Homestead
  1992
• Labor Day
  Cat 5
  Craig Key
  1935
• Donna
  Cat 4
  Conch Key
  1960
• King
  Cat 4
  Miami
  1950
• Okeechobee
  Cat 4
  Palm Beach
  1928
• Great Miami
  Cat 4
  Palmetto Bay
  1926
• Jeanne
  Cat 3
  Hutchinson Island
  2004

      Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale

• Cat 5
  > 157 mph
• Cat 4
  130 - 156 mph
• Cat 3
  111 - 129 mph
• Cat 2
  96 - 110 mph
• Cat 1
  74 - 95 mph

Landfall Locations of Florida Hurricanes (Cat 3, 4 & 5)