A growing number of Florida residents are experiencing severe financial pressure, despite the state’s seemingly robust economic performance. Recent data from Moneywise, WalletHub, Forbes, and Yahoo Finance rank Florida as the second most financially distressed state in the U.S. based on residents’ debt burdens. Between 2024 and 2025, the proportion of Floridians with troubled bank accounts surged by 23%, while 7.3% of the population now holds accounts in distress—the sixth-highest rate nationwide.
Chip Lupo, an analyst at WalletHub, explained that tracking financial hardship offers insight into whether households are managing basic expenses or falling behind. He emphasized that combining late payment trends with bankruptcy rates and credit score shifts helps reveal broader economic patterns.
On the ground, this strain manifests in rising bankruptcy filings, widespread use of payment deferrals, the nation’s lowest average credit scores, and steep costs for essentials like groceries, rent, mortgages, fuel, and medical care. Many Americans are resorting to credit to cover daily needs. A LendingTree survey found that 25% of buy-now-pay-later users have financed grocery purchases through such services.
WalletHub noted that recent years have brought a cascade of financial challenges—persistent inflation, fluctuating job markets, public health emergencies, and recurring natural disasters—all contributing to mounting household stress.
In the 2024 presidential election, economic anxiety played a decisive role. Exit polls from CBS News showed that 75% of voters felt inflation had caused moderate to severe hardship over the previous year, with 45% believing their financial situation had worsened compared to four years earlier. Then-candidate Donald Trump campaigned on promises to curb inflation and revitalize the economy.
However, since taking office in January, inflation has continued to climb. Analysts attribute this to corporate pricing strategies, inconsistent tariff policies, and complex macroeconomic forces beyond public understanding, all of which continue to disrupt everyday life.
Many Floridians are now caught in a cycle of ‘working homelessness,’ struggling with housing affordability, stagnant incomes, and mounting medical, student, and credit card debt. Wages have failed to keep pace with living costs, leaving families financially vulnerable.
Despite these hardships, Florida’s economy appears strong on paper, with a GDP of $1.76 trillion following years of rapid growth. Projections suggest the state will continue to outpace national GDP growth, though at a slower, more sustainable rate in the coming years.
This mirrors trends in the stock market, which reached record highs in the first half of 2025 after recovering from an April downturn. Some experts anticipate further gains, particularly in Big Tech, international equities, and firms tied to artificial intelligence.
Yet, the benefits of this growth are not reaching most residents. According to a Florida Realtors report, a family of four needs an annual income of $217,651 to live comfortably—covering housing, savings, and discretionary spending—far exceeding the state’s median income.
The outlook remains precarious. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, warned that while the U.S. has not yet entered a recession, 22 states plus the District of Columbia already show clear signs of economic decline, including weakening activity and job losses. Thirteen others are stagnating.
Speaking to MarketWatch, Zandi stated, “The economy is still not in recession, but the risks are very high. We’re on the precipice.” He cautioned that even a minor economic shock could trigger a contraction.
Zandi attributed much of the instability to policy decisions, particularly tariffs on imports that have increased uncertainty, disrupted supply chains, and caused businesses to pause expansion plans. Sluggish labor-force growth has further dampened economic momentum.
He pointed to declining immigration, rising tariffs, and federal workforce reductions as key contributors to the slowdown.
Meanwhile, Governor Ron DeSantis and his allies appear focused on consolidating political influence, targeting opponents and directing public resources to advance ideological goals. Grassroots mobilization may be necessary for residents to push back against these trends.
As the 2024 election demonstrated, inflation and cost-of-living concerns heavily influenced voter behavior. Today, rising public frustration could drive political change.
To address the crisis, Floridians must advocate for increased government investment in healthcare, affordable housing, education, wage growth, and labor protections to improve household financial stability.
For many, such action is no longer optional.
— news from FlaglerLive
— News Original —
Floridians Are Hurtling Towards Economic Disaster
By Barrington Salmon n n“When you think it’s peace and safety, it’s sudden destruction …” – Jamaican Proverb, derived from 1 Thessalonians 5:3 n nMoneywise, WalletHub, Forbes, and Yahoo Finance reported recently that Florida is the second most distressed state in the union in terms of its residents’ debt obligations. n nThe state saw a 23% increase in the share of people with distressed bank accounts between 2024 and 2025, the data show. In addition, Florida holds the sixth-highest overall share of people with accounts in distress, at 7.3%. n n“Measuring the share of residents in financial distress is a good way to take the pulse of a state and see whether people are generally thriving or having trouble making ends meet,” said Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst. n n“When you combine data about people delaying payments with other metrics like bankruptcy filings and credit score changes, it paints a good picture of the overall economic trends of a state,” he added. n nIn human terms, this financial distress looks like a sharp increase in bankruptcy filings; residents with accounts in forbearance or deferred payments; America’s lowest average credit scores; and higher prices for groceries, rent, mortgages, gasoline, and health care. n nAmericans are struggling to pay their bills, even turning to credit to pay for essentials. A recent LendingTree survey found that one-quarter of buy-now-pay-later users have used these loans to buy groceries. n n“The last few years have been a whirlwind for Americans’ finances, with inflation, fluctuating unemployment, public health crises and natural disasters making it hard for people across the country to pay their bills,” the WalletHub website says. n nIn the most recent presidential election, political pundits say, the electorate voted for Donald Trump because of their anxiety and deep frustration with the price of everything. n nElectoral implications n nAccording to Clare Goudreau of the Johns Hopkins Hub, “Rising costs were top of mind as voters cast their ballots in the 2024 presidential election. According to exit polls from CBS News, 75% of voters reported that inflation had caused moderate or severe hardship for them over the past year, with 45% saying they were worse off now than they were four years ago. During his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump vowed to end inflation and strengthen the economy.” n nTrump’s promise has fallen flat as inflation has spiraled upwards since he assumed office in January. Corporate greed; Trump’s zig-zag, on-again-off-again tariff folly; and economic factors that most folks don’t understand continue to upend ordinary people’s lives. n nA significant swath of Floridians are feeling considerable pain, caught in “working homelessness,” trying to cope with the affordable housing crisis, stagnant wages, medical debt, and student-loan and credit card debt. Meanwhile, wages and salaries fall far short of supporting families. n nMeanwhile, economic data show that Florida’s economy ostensibly is strong, with a GDP of $1.76 trillion after years of explosive expansion. While the state is expected to continue outperforming the national average in GDP growth, the rate is expected to slow to more typical, sustainable levels in coming years. n nThis is not unlike the stock market, which has experienced heady growth for the last several years. The market closed the first half of 2025 at record highs, recovering from an April drop. Some analysts see potential for further gains. Experts see Big Tech, international stocks, and AI-related companies as potential areas of continued outperformance. n nThe downturn has already begun n nBut the wealth isn’t trickling down. n nA Florida Realtors report notes that, as of mid-2025, a family of four in Florida needs an annual income of $217,651 to live “comfortably,” including savings and discretionary spending. This is significantly higher than the state’s median income. n nAs deleterious as these circumstances for Florida families, more danger lies ahead. n nMark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, says the U.S. economy is standing on shaky ground and, for many states, the downturn has already begun. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia are showing clear signs of recession, marked by economic weakness and job losses that are likely to continue. Another 13 states are “treading water,” he said. n nZandi told MarketWatch, “The economy is still not in recession, but the risks are very high. We’re on the precipice,” as quoted in the report. He warned that the overall U.S. economy is vulnerable and could be pushed into a contraction by even a modest shock. n nMuch of this weakness stems from economic policy, Zandi said. He noted that Trump’s tariffs on imported goods have created growing uncertainty, disrupted global supply chains, and forced companies to halt plans to expand. A lack of labor-force growth this year has also contributed to the slowdown, he said. n nTheir problems are driven largely by a mix of slowing immigration, increasing tariffs, and federal job cuts, Zandi argues. n nGov. Ron DeSantis and his MAGA cohort are distracted, however, consolidating political power at the expense of the populace, punishing their enemies and rewarding their friends, and leveraging state and federal funds to bully perceived enemies into compliance. Floridians must organize at the grass roots to fight back. n nAs the 2024 presidential election showed, in poll after poll, inflation was a major factor in how people voted; now, bubbling anger over the high cost of living can fuel the removal of incumbents. n nFloridians concerned about the high cost of living must force government officials to spend more on healthcare, affordable housing, education, higher wages, and support of labor unions so that residents can gain higher incomes. n nThey have no choice. n nJournalist Barrington Salmon lived and wrote in Florida (Miami and Tallahassee) for almost 20 years. He is a 2017 Annenberg National Fellow (University of Southern California) who currently freelances for publications, including the National Newspaper Publishers Association/Black Press USA, Trice Edney Newswire and The Washington Informer. Salmon lives in the nation’s capital and can be heard on his video blog “Speak Freely with Barrington Salmon and NNPA’s “Let It Be Known.”