Seasonal Migration of Retired Persons: Estimating Its Extent and Its Implications for the State of Florida

Abstract

This paper explores the extend of seasonal migration of the elderly to Florida and examines the impact that such migration has on the communities in which the seasonal migrants spend the winter. According to the 1980 Census Florida has 46% of all nonpermanent residents in the US and 120533 nonpermanent residents aged 65 and over. Data are from the Census Bureau and from a survey of the 29 Florida counties which have 500 or more nonpermanent residents. For the US as a whole the dependency ratio was .18 in 1975. In Florida for only permanent residents the dependency ratios range from .14 to .71. With the nonpermanent residents included the ratio reaches a peak of .73. During the summer of 1983 the researchers sent questionnaires to the county planners of each of the 29 counties. Results show that 1) the Census figures represent only a small portion of the numbers of retired seasonal migrants; 2) the greatest numbers of seasonal migrants reside in Florida during January February and March; 3) a great variety of housing types are used including campgrounds hotels or motels houses condominiums and apartments; 4) for 15 counties 5-40% of their economy is based on trade with snowbirds. Some negative implications for Florida counties include 1) transportation problems such as poor road conditions and traffic congestion 2) heavy use of medical services and 3) heavy use of recreational facilities. Finally planners should be particularly concerned with the age distribution and health characteristics of future snowbirds.