Wesley Chapel tops list of top 10 places to move in Florida

Florida still sees more people moving in than moving out; but the gap is shrinking.

When it comes to the places to live in Florida, Tampa suburb Wesley Chapel in Pasco County can’t be beat.

At least that’s the conclusion from ConsumerAffairs.com. The buyer’s guide and consumer trends website released a study this month ranking the best places to move in the Sunshine State.

A research team from ConsumerAffairs.com reviewed the 50 most populous towns in Florida while calculating factors such as safety, affordability, economy, health, education and quality of life. Wesley Chapel came out on top.

“Wesley Chapel ranks No.1 on our list primarily through strong health care, education and safety scores. Having the highest number of health care practitioners per capita, the second-highest rate of insured residents and the third-highest high school graduation rate makes it the best city for health and education,” the analysis concluded.

Wesley Chapel also was listed second in the state for public safety, with a low crime rate showing just 0.82  violent crimes per 1,000 people each year.

Another Gulf Coast community further to the south, North Port, came in second on the list of best Florida cities for which to relocate. Safety and affordability played a key role in North Port’s high ranking among best Florida cities.

“Despite having a median household income much lower than Wesley Chapel ($82,495), North Port residents still only spend a median of 21.4% of their income on housing. This makes it one of the most affordable cities on our list,” ConsumerAffairs writers surmised.

Coral Springs, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, came in third on the list of best places to move. The South Florida municipality was highly ranked for recreational access, as 66% of Coral Springs residents live within a 10-minute walk from a park.

Riverview, another Tampa suburb in Hillsborough County, came in fourth on the list, with affordability a top factor. “The median homeowner spends only 22% of their $100,475 income on housing costs,” the analysis found.

Tamarac, another Fort Lauderdale suburb came in fifth. “Population growth of 11.8% between 2018 and 2023, combined with the highest home appreciation (9.4%) of the top five areas between 2022 and 2023, earned the city No. 1 in the category.”

The remainder of the cites on the top 10 include Pembroke Pines, Palm Bay, The Villages, Port St. Lucie and Largo, respectively.

There was only one North Florida city that made the list: Palm Coast in Flagler County; which landed at No. 16.