← Retirement destinations

Retiring to Pensacola, FL

Selling a home for $525,000 and keeping $150,000 in the bank leaves room to buy in 3 of 12 Pensacola neighborhoods with 5+ sales, Oct 2025–Sep 2026 (after 6% selling costs, buying at the neighborhood median). Property tax in Pensacola runs about 0.61% of value a year (Census ACS 2023).

Questions? Call or text Chris Harris, REALTOR®: (270) 421-8726.

Cash to keep in the bank

    Next steps, your choice

    Plan a scouting week

    One neighborhood a day: the drive to the hospital and homes to see.

    Plan my visit

    Share with family

    A link that reopens this page on the same town. Nothing else is in it.

    Ask Chris

    Chris Harris, REALTOR®, reads every note himself. He is not licensed in Florida, so for showings and offers he introduces you to a licensed agent there; he may receive a referral fee from that agent’s brokerage, which does not change your price. Can’t visit first? Say so in your note.

    Every neighborhood we have numbers for

    Neighborhoods with 5+ sales, Oct 2025–Sep 2026 (Redfin), cheapest first by town. Drive times are not shown here yet: our routing estimate did not match Google Maps closely enough.

    NeighborhoodTownMedian saleSales
    Southwest PensacolaPensacola$251,1801123
    Scenic HeightsPensacola$291,918115
    Northwest PensacolaPensacola$309,7631130
    South PensacolaPensacola$347,903164
    Southeast PensacolaPensacola$398,888440
    East Pensacola HeightsPensacola$409,88560
    La MiragePensacola$442,37637
    Cordova ParkPensacola$484,86457
    Gulf BeachPensacola$502,109117
    Downtown PensacolaPensacola$569,84083
    Perdido KeyPensacola$590,834269
    East HillPensacola$674,81169

    Left out because they are outside Pensacola: Cantonment (a separate community), Gulf Breeze (a separate city), Pensacola Beach (a separate community on Santa Rosa Island).

    Redfin groups these with Pensacola, but we have no map location for them yet, so we can’t confirm they are in town: Aviation Field, Montclair, North Central Pensacola, Beach Haven, Workman Community, Navy Point, Floridatown Heights, West Side, Northeast Pensacola, North Northwest Pensacola, Wynnehaven Beach, Berry Place, Precinct 50, Wynnehaven Beach Estates, Scenic Hills Country Club Estates, Tanyard, New City, Inerarity Point, Seville Historic District, Nature Trail.

    Check crime data

    We don’t grade neighborhoods on crime. Look up the streets you’re considering in Pensacola with the agency that patrols them:

    What Florida doesn’t tax

    Florida has no state income tax.

    • Florida has no state income tax, so Social Security is not taxed by the state.
    • Pensions and retirement withdrawals are not taxed by the state (no state income tax).
    • Military retired pay is not taxed by the state (no state income tax).
    • Homestead exemption of up to $51,411 in 2026 ($25,000 on all taxes plus $26,411 on non-school taxes), plus a county/city-option additional exemption of up to $50,000 for owners 65 and older whose household income is under the state's annual limit; a second local option can exempt the whole assessed value for owners 65+ with 25 years in a home valued under $250,000. Apply with the county property appraiser (s. 196.075, F.S.).
    • The 65+ exemption's household income limit is $38,686 for 2026.

    Full details: Florida retirement taxes →

    Source: Florida Department of Revenue, Taxes and Fees (no personal income tax is listed; only corporate income tax) (read 2026-10-17); Florida Department of Revenue, PT-110 and Additional Homestead Exemption Adjustment (Jan 2026) (read 2026-10-20); Florida Department of Revenue, Additional Homestead Exemptions (Jan 2026) (read 2026-10-20). Figures change each year; confirm with the agency before you rely on them. Not tax advice.

    The twenty-year test

    Which of these do you need in the house you will live in for twenty years?

    Email me homes that pass

    The alert matches what the listing feed has: price, bedrooms, bathrooms, year built and house type. Chris checks each match for the features the listing feed can’t see.

    Home prices: Redfin neighborhood medians, Jul–Sep 2026, neighborhoods with 5+ sales. Property tax: Census ACS 2023 effective rates. Selling costs estimated at 6% of the sale price.