Many cities that end up on the lists of the best places to move to or retire to in Florida are quite well known. For example, I’ve written about a Movebudda study named The Villages as the top city that everyone wants to move to in Florida and how Jacksonville was named by “The Coastal” as one of the most rapidly growing cities for retirees. Both of those are well-known. However, a lesser-known Florida city, Wesley Chapel, was recently named as the best city to move to in Florida.
The Study And What It Measured: In December of 2024, ConsumerAffairs.com published what it felt were the best places to move to in Florida. To do so, it looked at the criteria of affordability, economic strength, education and health care, quality of life, and safety.
The Lessor Known Winner – Wesley Chapel: I’d suspect that not all readers are aware of this medium-sized city in Pasco County with a population of around 65,000. In contrast, nearby Tampa’s population was over 400,000 in 2023.
Wesley Chapel excelled in the categories of health care, education, and safety. The town only had 0.82 violent crimes per 1,000 people each year, which is 68% lower than the Florida average. Additionally, it had the highest median household income on the list, at $112,045.