Republicans must address affordability to save American Dream in Miami | Opinion
“It’s expensive because it’s Miami,” I overheard a 20-something woman tell her friend on Miami Beach. She’s not wrong, nor is she alone in her sentiment.
Over half of Miami’s young adults — ages 18-34 — are planning to leave the city, according to a recent national survey. Miami ranks third-highest among major U.S. cities for people considering leaving due to affordability.
This isn’t an abstract data point. The Miami Herald reported that recent college graduates have left South Florida because they can’t afford to stay. One moved to New York City due to better career opportunities, another to Vero Beach because she couldn’t afford to live and work in Miami.
For Florida Republicans, it should be a five-alarm fire.
Conservatives have long argued that hard work leads to prosperity. Florida Republicans have criticized blue states like California and New York for their excessive taxes, overregulation and high cost of living. Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida has attracted wealth and new residents.
But Florida’s progress risks being undermined if housing affordability isn’t addressed. Housing costs are on the rise in Miami — roughly 60% of renters are spending at least 30% of their income on rent alone. While GOP legislative leaders in Tallahassee are looking to cut property taxes, they’re failing to address the high cost of rentals.
Peter Gutierrez, a 21-year-old from Cutler Bay, told the Herald, “I just knew if I want to be successful in my career, I can’t stay in Miami.” Gutierrez’s comment reflects an uncomfortable truth: Florida’s economy isn’t producing lucrative career opportunities for young people, including native Floridians.
President Donald Trump has called affordability “a hoax.” But for many Miamians, it’s real. Markets don’t lie, and young professionals leaving should concern anyone who observes economic trends.
Dismissing affordability may play well at Mar-a-Lago, but it doesn’t help South Floridians choosing whether to stay or go. For them, affordability isn’t a Democrat talking point. It’s the difference between building a future in Florida and packing up a U-Haul.
Florida has become a tax haven for the wealthy, especially in wealthy enclaves like Indian Creek off Miami Beach. But a sustainable economy requires more than Jeff Bezos and Bethenny Frankel. It needs young talent building businesses and putting down roots. Attracting the uber-wealthy while pricing out young professionals isn’t a solution — it’s managed decline with a beach view.
Edward Murray, associate director of the Metropolitan Center at FIU, told the Herald, “Miami-Dade County is reliant on three major industry sectors — leisure and hospitality, health care and retail. They comprise about 60 percent of Miami-Dade’s employment base, yet most of those jobs in those three sectors are low-wage service jobs. Those occupations in our core industries do not provide enough for anybody to be able to afford the current rent and home prices.” This is a failure of economic development.
Florida should continue to cultivate sectors such as energy and technology and become ground zero for business incubators.
Miami touts opportunity but fails to deliver wages that match the cost of living. The solution isn’t rent-control subsidies — I’m looking at you, Mayor Mamdani. It’s lowering insurance costs and easing regulations that suffocate high-wage industries.
Cara Gilliland, 25, worked two jobs while attending the University of Miami to make ends meet. When it came to starting her career as a teacher, she left Miami. “I just don’t see how it would be worth it to stay there if you want to be smart with your money,” Gilliland told the Herald.
That’s a fiscally conservative decision based on the reality of what it takes to live in Miami.
Miami is struggling to provide what conservatives have always promised: the ability to work hard, build a career and afford to live. If Republicans in Florida want to remain the party of the American Dream, they must treat affordability as an economic development crisis.
The free market is sending up warning flares. Young talent is leaving, and the GOP must listen.
Mary Anna Mancuso is a member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board. Her email: mmancuso@miamiherald.com
This story was originally published February 6, 2026 at 5:52 PM.