The question movers should ask: what does the house really cost?
If you are planning a move for 2027, the listing price is only the starting point. Property taxes, home and flood insurance, utility bills and exposure to storms, heat or wildfire can reshape a monthly budget more than a half-point swing in mortgage rates.
That is the core argument of a recent countdown from the YouTube channel Discover The Cities, which names ten states that newcomers should "think twice" about: Massachusetts, Arizona, Illinois, New Jersey, Texas, New York, Louisiana, Hawaii, California and, at number one, Florida. The creator is careful to say these are not bad places to live. His point is that each has a specific catch that surprises relocators.
This article takes that list as a starting point, pulls out the figures the video cites, adds context on how to evaluate them, and notes where the list is debatable. It is general information, not personal financial advice.
The ten states at a glance
The video ranks states by how much the "hidden" costs can surprise a newcomer. Here is the countdown, summarized from the creator's claims.
| Rank | State | Main catch, per Discover The Cities |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Massachusetts | High housing and child care costs, tight inventory, harsh winters |
| 9 | Arizona | Extreme heat, water limits, prices well above pre-pandemic levels |
| 8 | Illinois | Property taxes among the nation's highest, pension pressure |
| 7 | New Jersey | Highest average property tax bill, plus tolls and car insurance |
| 6 | Texas | High property tax rates, grid and hurricane risk |
| 5 | New York | Heavy overall tax burden, expensive and small rentals |
| 4 | Louisiana | Costly insurance, coastal land loss, outmigration |
| 3 | Hawaii | Highest cost of living, high electricity rates, wildfire aftermath |
| 2 | California | Housing prices, insurance availability, wildfire risk |
| 1 | Florida | Insurance, condo rules and softening prices in some areas |
The ranking is the creator's judgment, not a statistical index. What is useful is the way the list sorts states by type of risk, which we group below.
Group one: high taxes and high prices in the Northeast and Midwest
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Illinois are on the list mainly because of what ownership costs after closing.
Massachusetts. The video describes Boston-area housing as among the most expensive in the country, with tight inventory and multiple offers above asking when a decent house lists. It also highlights infant child care costs and notes the state added an extra 4% tax on income over $1 million in 2023. That surtax affects few households, but child care and rent can affect many.
Illinois. Discover The Cities says Illinois usually ranks first or second for property taxes, trading places with New Jersey, and that some Chicago-area suburbs commonly see bills of $10,000 or more a year. He links this to underfunded public pensions and to years of more residents leaving than arriving.
New Jersey. The creator says New Jersey has the highest average property tax bill in the country, close to $10,000 a year for the average homeowner, and much more in towns with top-rated schools. He adds a top income tax rate above 10%, pricey car insurance and tolls.
New York. He cites a top state income tax rate near 11%, a city income tax of close to 4% at the top end, Manhattan median rent well over $4,000 a month, and landlord income rules of 40 times monthly rent.
A practical note on property taxes: rankings differ depending on whether you measure the effective rate (tax as a share of home value) or the average dollar bill. A state with modest rates but high home values can still produce large bills. The Tax Foundation publishes county-level effective rates, which is a better guide than any state headline.
Group two: climate, grid and water risk in the Sun Belt
Arizona. The video notes that Phoenix logged 31 straight days at 110 degrees or higher in 2023, and more than 100 straight days at 100 or above in 2024. It says summer electric bills of several hundred dollars are common. It also raises water supply: the creator says Arizona paused approval of some new groundwater-dependent developments around Phoenix in 2023, a sign that water could limit future supply. Limited supply can support prices even when demand cools.
Texas. The no-income-tax draw is real, but the creator argues property taxes carry much of the load, with some suburban bills running to $10,000 or more on expensive new homes. He also points to Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, Texas's mostly separate power grid, and Hurricane Beryl in 2024, which he says knocked out power to more than two million customers in the Houston area. (The auto-generated transcript renders the storm's name as "Barrel"; we have used the standard spelling.) He adds that Austin's pandemic run-up was followed by price declines for many buyers.
If you are comparing states with and without income tax, run both sides: your expected income tax savings versus the property tax on the home you would actually buy. Our guide on how to buy a home today, covering rates, closing costs and negotiation covers other line items to price in.
Group three: insurance is the new budget line
The three states in the top four are the ones where the video leans hardest on insurance.
Louisiana (No. 4). After hurricanes Laura in 2020 and Ida in 2021, the creator says many insurers left or failed and those who stayed raised rates sharply. He also cites coastal land loss, which he compares to an area about the size of Delaware over the last century, and a high poverty rate with more people leaving than arriving.
California (No. 2). The video says the median home price is often more than double the national figure, that the top state income tax rate exceeds 13%, and that several large insurers stopped writing or sharply limited new policies because of wildfire risk. He says many homeowners end up on the state's backup plan, which can cost more and cover less, and cites the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires as a further strain.
Florida (No. 1). The creator says premiums in many areas are several times the national average, that multiple insurers have failed or left, and that the state-backed insurer Citizens at one point became the largest home insurer in the state. He notes prices have started to stabilize but could swing again after a bad hurricane season. He also points out that standard policies usually exclude flood, which requires a separate policy.
Hawaii (No. 3) sits in a different category: the video describes the highest cost of living of any state, an Oahu median single-family price above $1 million, electricity rates often more than double the national average, and a deepened housing shortage on Maui after the August 2023 Lahaina wildfire.
Florida's condo and price story
The most market-relevant part of the video is the Florida housing segment. The creator says that after the 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, which killed 98 people, new state rules require structural inspections of older condo buildings and adequate reserves for major repairs. Safer buildings are the goal, but he says many owners have faced special assessments of tens of thousands of dollars, leading to more condos for sale and price drops in many areas.
He adds that in many Gulf Coast markets, prices are falling and homes are sitting longer, and warns that buying at the wrong time in the wrong place can leave a buyer owing more than the home is worth. For county-level detail, see our look at Florida home prices falling by county. If your target is the southwest part of the state, our analysis of whether Southwest Florida can withstand 8% mortgage rates explains how local sellers and buyers are adjusting.
What this means for you
If you are a buyer relocating
- Ask for a real homeowners insurance quote, and a flood quote where relevant, before you write an offer. Do not rely on the seller's current premium; it may not renew at the same price.
- Estimate the property tax from the assessor's rules for your price, not the seller's bill. Some places reassess at sale.
- For condos, request reserve studies, inspection reports and any pending assessments.
- Compare total monthly cost, not price. Our piece on cost of living and housing affordability shows why squeezed budgets amplify small cost differences.
If you are a seller leaving a high-cost state
- Expect buyers to price in insurance and taxes. Homes that are hard to insure may need a larger discount or documented upgrades such as a newer roof.
- If you are moving from a high-price market to a lower-price one, be careful about assuming you will pay cash. Check what rates and down payments will look like.
If you already own and are considering a move
- Run a before-and-after budget that includes insurance, taxes, utilities, commuting and child care.
- Consider renting first in a new state for a season, including its worst weather, before committing.
Limits and counterpoints
A countdown video is useful for starting a checklist, but it has limits.
First, the ranking is subjective. Several states not on the list, including others with high insurance or tax costs, could make a similar case, and the order of the ten is the creator's judgment.
Second, most figures are given as broad claims without dates or sources: "among the highest," "several times the national average," "well above." Conditions also change quickly. Insurance markets in Florida, for example, have shifted from year to year, and the creator himself says prices have started to stabilize. Verify any figure against current official data before you act on it.
Third, costs are relative to income and alternatives. Massachusetts and New York carry high costs but also high wages in some sectors, and a no-income-tax state may still be a better financial choice for many households. A high-tax state can be a good move for someone whose job or family keeps them there. The video also gets some regional details wrong or imprecise by the nature of a 23-minute overview, so treat it as a prompt for local research rather than a verdict.
The channel is small, and the video had about 3,100 views at the time we reviewed it, so it is best read as one creator's checklist, not a consensus view.
What to watch next
Several trends will shape 2027 moving decisions:
- Insurance filings and carrier availability in Florida, California and Louisiana, including whether state-backed insurers shrink or grow.
- Property tax reforms and reassessments, which vary by state and can change after you buy.
- Hurricane and wildfire seasons, which can move premiums quickly.
- Mortgage rates, tracked weekly by Freddie Mac, which affect how much price flexibility sellers have. For a snapshot of the broader market, see our housing market reality check on prices, inventory and rates.
- Census migration data, which shows whether net movement into or out of a state is accelerating.
The lesson that holds across all ten states is simple: compare the full cost of ownership in the exact county and property type you are considering, and get quotes before you commit.