While tower cranes and shifting skylines have visibly redrawn Florida’s horizon over the past several years, the foundation supporting the state’s $1.8 trillion economy was not built on concrete alone.
Behind the outward transformation lies what state leaders describe as a deliberate governing blueprint — no state personal income tax, aggressive deregulation and fiscal restraint — that they credit with helping turn the Sunshine State into one of the fastest-growing economic centers in the country.
“I’m proud that we have been able to stand up for economic freedom and safety of our people. I think that is what is attracting so many people to the state of Florida,” Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital during a visit to Miami.
“We are working hard to make sure that we remain engaged,” she continued, “make sure that we are protecting the state that we all love, but that we are remaining committed to the ideals of standing up for economic freedom, private markets and our people.”
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Earlier this year, the Florida Chamber of Commerce announced that Florida had climbed to No. 14 among the world’s largest economies by gross domestic product (GDP). The state’s economy reached $1.8 trillion after growing 6.3% over the past year, surpassing Australia and Mexico, according to the chamber. Florida now ranks behind South Korea at No. 13 and would need roughly 2% additional growth to surpass it and about 21% more growth to overtake Canada, which ranks No. 10.
The Chamber previously credited the accomplishment to the state’s lower taxes, streamlined regulations and free enterprise, which Moody helped in crafting during her tenure as attorney general, working closely alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis at a pivotal time — from 2019 just before the pandemic, to 2025, when a wealth and population migration was in full swing.
“When we worked together… [it was] one of the most challenging times, and truly, I think it was a unique time in history where you had government, during a crisis, taking more power,” Moody reflected. “We didn’t just say, ‘Okay, whatever you say, Washington swamp, we will do, and we will make sure that our people do,’ because government at this moment in time gets to just take all the power that they want and cram down on their people. And we really stood up to that. And because of that, our state really showed that if you remain true to the purpose of government to protect people, both their rights and their safety, you can flourish.”
“That is when it shows leadership — it’s making the tough decisions and standing by your principles when it’s not easy to do so. And in Florida, I felt like we were very proactive. We led by example.”
At the height of Florida’s net in-migration in 2022, the state gained nearly 600,000 residents from migration alone, averaging about 1,640 people per day, according to data compiled by the University of Florida’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies. From April 2020 through July 2025, the Sunshine State added more than 1.9 million residents overall, second only to Texas nationwide, U.S. Census Bureau figures show.
“Florida is on fire in terms of economic growth compared to any other state. We were the number one state for economic growth from 2019 to 2025. And we did that by being very fierce in our protection of people, their safety and their rights, to include economic freedom,” Moody said.
“I’m a fifth-generation Floridian. I love this state. And when you have such rapid growth… growth in terms of population moving into our state, that has been at an increased level and, certainly, that presents a whole different set of challenges,” she said. “So, what we were facing in terms of pushing back on insane policies as it relates to people’s safety or their economic freedoms, you now have leaders that are going to have to address this influx of population.”
While incoming capital fueled top-line GDP figures, the boom has tested working-class balance sheets. As hundreds of thousands of higher-earning transplants relocated to South and Central Florida, the cost of living escalated sharply. According to Census Bureau and data from Florida REALTORS, median single-family home prices in Florida surged by roughly 50% between 2020 and 2024, creating persistent affordability hurdles for service-industry workers, first responders and native Floridians.
Moody said those challenges include balancing rapid expansion with environmental preservation, while investing in education, highways and conservation efforts across Florida’s ecosystems.
“We’ve got to stay ahead on infrastructure. We’ve got to stay ahead in ensuring that parents and families moving here have meaningful educational choice, and we’re committed to supporting those choices in our educational infrastructure,” she said. “We’ve got to make sure that we’re protecting Florida, our environment, all that it offers. We have three national parks. Florida is beautiful — not just our beaches — we have forests, we have the Everglades, we have incredible natural resources that, any time you have a massive influx of population, you’ve got to be proactive and protecting.”
Moody argued that Florida’s track record is not just an isolated state achievement, but also a template for other states and federal lawmakers seeking to jumpstart growth. She contended that sustainable economic prosperity requires government to prioritize its constitutional core functions.
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“You can replicate Florida’s success story, not only in Congress in the United States, you can replicate this in other states. If you have people that are committed to remembering what government is supposed to be and what it is not supposed to be and making common sense policy decisions around that principle. And then having an attorney general that will work with lawmakers, policymakers, executives as they are enforcing laws, making sure that that approach is felt, emulated, and the folks are encouraged to stand up for that same approach throughout states and throughout this nation. That will work. That’s what we did here in Florida,” Moody explained.
“If leaders keep that in mind and understand that government is supposed to protect people, protect their rights… The recipe for success is very simple. And if folks are making policy decisions with that in mind, remaining true to the purpose of this country, to the core function of government, states will succeed, people will succeed.”