TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — When it comes to the best places to raise a family in the United States, a recent WalletHub study says it may not be Florida. State education data clarifies some of the issues.

Despite the sunshine, theme parks, and a multitude of beaches making the state’s “family fun” score the sixth-best in the U.S., scores for health and safety, education and child care, and affordability were all low, making Florida rank 39 out of 50 for best places to raise kids.

Focused on affordability alone, Florida was dead last. Rising housing costs for renters and buyers, higher fuel costs, and higher insurance rates for cars and homes are making every Floridian’s hard-earned dollars less impactful.

Stretching the dollar hurts opportunity, even when the state says it’s expecting a record year for revenue, with a $15 billion surplus.

Just as important as affordability is education, and in that regard the state has some work to do, according to the study. The WalletHub study ranked Florida in 31st place for education and child care.

Just like everything else, child care has gotten more expensive with inflation. The only thing that fell in Florida’s education and child care category was the education scores.

Florida has made strides in improving its education, and Gov. Ron DeSantis cites the high national ranking for the state education system due to significant improvements during his time as governor. U.S. News ranked Florida the third best state for education in 2021. The state is also doing more to help improve literacy in younger students, particularly in communities with a lower historical and generational reading level.

While colleges are doing well, and individual schools have shown improvement, with increased literacy rates and better testing outcomes, only half of Florida’s kindergarteners were ready for school. It was a 7% drop from the year before.

The U.S. News ranking does put Florida at No. 3 for education. But it also listed the median income at $29,758 and said less than half the state is college-educated, adding to affordability issues and making opportunities in today’s job market harder to find.

The change in early scores for Florida’s youngest students comes as Florida’s graduation rates plateau.

The Florida Department of Education showed that from 2003 to 2004 school year up to the 2019 to 2020 school year, the Sunshine State made substantial gains in its graduation rates. Less than 60% of Florida’s students graduated high school in 2003 to 2004. From 2020 to 2021, more than 90% did, but it was only a marginal increase from graduation rates mid-pandemic.

“Florida’s federal graduation rate in 2018-19 was ranked #20 in the nation,” according to the FLDOE. As graduation rates increased, the number of students dropping out of school shrank.

Looking for better educational outcomes, Florida is attempting to switch from standardized tests to progress monitoring as a way to better educate its students and aid in graduation and retention, pending legislation to accomplish this goal. 

An influx of new families moving to Florida due to historically cheaper costs of living has caused those savings to disappear, adding to issues of affordability and availability.

Since education is typically funded by property taxes based on home values, rising home prices, and bigger sales margins are putting more money into education funding across Florida. At the same time, the costs of food, materials, and consumer goods have all gone up. 

Improving Florida’s education outcomes and making the state a better place to raise a family will depend on how fast school districts can adjust to the bigger populations, and how much the state can adjust for ongoing inflationary pressures.

While the state continues a push to increase teacher salaries and hire more educators, higher costs of living and more students make it harder to ensure children get the help and education they need. Improving Florida’s education outcomes and making the state a better place to raise a family will depend on how fast school districts can adjust to population increases and how much the state can adapt to ongoing inflationary pressures.