Miami was supposed to be the cheap escape. 🌴
For the first time on record, the Miami metro is now more expensive than greater New York — the second-priciest large metro in America, behind only San Francisco.
Here's the part nobody planned for: the prices caught up to New York, but the paychecks didn't.
• Consumer prices up 36% since 2019
• Home prices up 79% since Covid
• Property taxes up 62% — more than 2x the national average
• Home insurance averaging ~$8,300/yr, roughly 4x New York State
Meanwhile the typical Miami household earns about $1,000 below the national median. Same prices, smaller checks.
So the tax-haven trade still works — but only at the very top. 24 homes sold for $30M+ in the first half of 2026 (nearly double last year), while the merely well-off are quietly getting priced out.
Miami didn't stop being a tax haven. It just stopped being a discount.