DeSantis Brags Florida is #1 in Economic Freedom

TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – According to Freedom in the 50 States, an Index of Personal and Economic Freedom, Florida is first in economic freedom. Gov. Ron DeSantis bragged of the first place rating.

“Florida ranks #1 among the states for economic freedom!” DeSantis said on Twitter.

The index is from the CATO Institute and shows Florida has been first in economic freedom every year since 2014.

“The state attracts more than seniors, as others vote with their feet for good weather and the increased opportunity afforded by Florida’s freer society. Florida does especially well on economic freedom, and even more so on fiscal policy,” they say in the analysis of the rating. “Lacking an individual income tax and featuring a hot climate, Florida has long enjoyed substantial in-migration of well-off retirees.”

Overall, Florida is ranked second in overall freedom, encompassing several categories ranging from fiscal to personal.

Florida is also number one in fiscal freedom and has been since 2014.

“After falling relative to other states for a decade, Florida has improved its personal freedom score with big jumps in 2014 and 2015. It is now well above average. Part of this bump was because of the Supreme Court’s nationalization of same-sex marriage,” CATO says.

Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida saw the largest influx of residents amidst anti-lockdown policies from DeSantis. California and New York, Democrat-majority states, saw the largest losses.

Florida gained 263,958 people from other states while Texas gained 211,289.

On the other hand, California saw a net out-migration of 429,283 residents while New York saw a 406,257 net out-migration.

In total, New York lost more people than California, losing 365,336 people to California’s 300,387.