Florida is missing an estimated 55,000 single-family homes and more than 66,000 rental units, according to a first-of-its-kind housing supply model from the DeVoe L. Moore Institute at Florida State University. Produced and distributed in partnership with fellow think tanks Reason Foundation and the Florida Policy Project, the model sheds light on Florida’s growing housing crisis and provides specific recommendations for reform in each of Florida’s 67 counties.

The model tracks surplus and shortage trends across the state, offering policymakers, residents and stakeholders a data-driven tool to better understand and address housing affordability challenges.

The model finds that some of the most acute shortages occur in Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa — markets that now rank among the least affordable in the nation.

Persistent barriers driving the crisis

The analysis highlights multiple systemic barriers that prevent Florida’s housing supply from keeping pace with demand.  Those include:

• Permitting delays: Development projects often stall for months or even years, pushing up costs for builders and buyers alike.
• Restrictive zoning: Rules that favor low-density, single-family development limit options for townhomes, smaller homes and apartments.
• Limited use of flexible housing options: Solutions like accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and residential duplex units (RDUs) remain underutilized, even though they could be thoughtfully integrated into neighborhoods while maintaining local character.
• Political gridlock: Local debates frequently turn housing projects into flashpoints, adding layers of complexity, uncertainty and expense.

A tool for action

Alongside the research, the organizations have released an interactive housing shortage map, now available on each of the organization’s websites. The map allows users to:

• Explore local housing trends across single-family and rental markets.
• Track whether their community has been in surplus, deficit or balance over time.
• Identify opportunities for smarter planning and policy solutions.

“Currently, housing shortage and surplus trends is the key draw for users of the website,” said Crystal Taylor, director of research for the DeVoe L. Moore Institute at Florida State University. “When home or rental prices are high, one of the first actionable steps local governments can do is to make sure there is enough housing inventory available. If there is a shortage, they can look at their local policies toward construction because fierce competition for limited home options drives up prices.”

Adrian Moore, Vice President of the Reason Foundation, believes the housing supply model gives users a better sense of the issues they might face.

“This model equips Floridians with a clear, data-backed understanding of their local housing challenges,” said Moore.

The housing data provides a substantial policymaking impact that benefits both legislative members and Florida residents.

“Our goal is to empower residents and elected officials to work toward solutions that expand supply, reduce costs and preserve community character,” Florida Policy Project Founder and former state senator Jeff Brandes added. “We believe this tool will provide decision makers and Florida citizens real, live data so they will make the tough decisions to propel Florida as the leader in housing affordability.”

About the partners

• The DeVoe L. Moore Institute at Florida State University conducts interdisciplinary research on state and local regulatory issues, with a focus on policies that shape communities and economies.
• Reason Foundation is a nonprofit think tank advancing free minds and free markets through research and policy solutions.
• Florida Policy Project develops practical policy recommendations to address Florida’s most pressing challenges, with a focus on transparency, accountability, and innovation.

For more information and to explore the interactive map, visit the Florida Housing Data Project website.

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The DeVoe L. Moore Institute at Florida State University has launched a redesigned digital transparency platform, FloridaOpenGov.com, that gives the public clearer access to Florida state and local government data. The updated site allows users to explore information on Florida’s K–12 education system, state and local payroll, and other public spending categories through interactive visuals and searchable datasets.

Florida Open Gov was developed by the Institute’s Data Analytics Group (DAG), a faculty-mentored and student-led team within FSU’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy. The redesign modernizes the layout and functionality of the platform to make complex data easier to interpret for policymakers, journalists, educators and citizens. All datasets are sourced directly from the Florida Department of Education and other state agencies to ensure accuracy and reliability.

“One of our goals moving forward with the revamp of the website is to build capacity for Florida teachers, parents and students to be able to tell compelling stories with the data in order to inform policy decisions within and across districts and schools,” said Crystal Taylor, director of research for the DeVoe L. Moore Institute at Florida State University.

The update reflects years of work by faculty mentors and successive student analytics teams to expand the scope of the platform, refine usability and improve visual clarity.

“New visualizations include District Grades Over Time, Free Lunch Rates vs. Grades, District Grades vs. Salary, District Enrollment Map, Graduation Rate By Special Category Map, and more,” said Alexis Staveski, Data Analytics Group Manager.

Key features include:

• Searchable datasets on education, payroll and spending.
• Interactive tableau charts and maps for easy comparison.
• Featured blogs depicting how data can inform policy.

“As part of our research internship, we believe that data and storytelling go hand in hand,” Taylor said. “Our data analytics interns not only pick up data cleaning and visualization skills, we also set expectations from the start that they have to be able to explain ‘What does this data mean for Floridians?’”

Visitors can explore the redesigned platform at floridaopengov.com.

About the DeVoe L. Moore Institute

The DeVoe L. Moore Institute is a public policy institute in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy at Florida State University. The Institute studies how government policies, regulations and programs affect the economy and individuals, and its faculty-mentored and student-led Data Analytics Group works to improve government transparency by acquiring, cleaning and visualizing public data.

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As housing costs continue to increase nationwide, Florida residents have become all too familiar with the growing housing shortage and affordability crisis that has been building over the past two decades in the Sunshine State.

The DeVoe L. Moore Center at Florida State University has teamed up with the Florida Policy Project and Reason Foundation to develop the Florida Housing Data Project (FHDP), a tool that allows residents and policymakers to see local-level housing trends, track shortages in single-family and rental units, and understand whether local markets have been in balance, surplus or deficit over time. The website and interactive housing map offer data-driven solutions to Florida’s severe housing shortage and affordability crisis.

The map serves two critical purposes for Florida citizens, notes Sam Staley, an economist and director of the DeVoe L. Moore Center. “By applying rigorous analysis, we provide local officials with estimates of how deep our housing deficits are at the local level. Second, we tailor our policy recommendations to local needs.”

The FHDP reveals that Florida has a cumulative shortage of more than 120,000 housing units, an inverse of housing conditions before the 2008 housing market collapse. The deficit spans both major housing types affecting homeowners and renters, with nearly 66,000 owner-occupied units and approximately 55,000 rental units missing from the market. The inability to align housing supply with demand stems from layered and persistent causes, including restrictive zoning, permitting delays and local government hurdles.

The shortage is particularly pronounced in metropolitan areas such as Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, which rank among the least affordable housing markets in the nation. The housing affordability crisis has been exacerbated by the state’s rapid population growth, which has outpaced residential construction. As a result of supply-squeezed pricing, approximately one-third of Floridian households are burdened with housing costs exceeding 30% of their gross household income.

The report recommends several key policy shifts local governments could take to increase the supply of housing and work toward restoring balance for Florida’s housing market. Proposed steps include prioritizing housing production by identifying and addressing existing barriers, promoting accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and duplexes, encouraging upzoning and flexible land uses, and streamlining local permitting processes.

With straightforward housing supply numbers tailored for local use, citizens and policymakers alike can see how deeply the housing shortage cuts into their communities and analyze local housing data trends over time.

The website currently offers insights into 30 Florida counties and will include all 67 counties by June 2026. For more information and county-specific profiles for those already available, visit florida-housing-data-project.reason.org.

The DeVoe L. Moore Center at Florida State University is part of FSU’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy.

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Three Florida State University students — Jonus Goldstein, Max Harden and Matthew John Aguilera — have been named 2025 Humanities at Hertog Fellows, selected from a competitive cohort of students from various elite institutions.

The Humanities at Hertog Fellowship, a prestigious and new opportunity offered through FSU’s Office of National Fellowships, provides a fully subsidized program that enables fellows to immerse themselves in rigorous academic inquiry through online seminars and summer programs in the humanities, law and international affairs.

During the spring 2025 semester, the Hertog Fellows participated in a six-week online seminar focusing on Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War.”

“We are incredibly proud of these students for their selection as Humanities at Hertog Fellows,” said Ryan Owens, director of FSU’s Institute for Governance and Civics. “This recognition confirms FSU’s commitment to academic excellence and shows the importance of studying topics like western civilization and the ideas that underlie America’s foundation.”  

Jonus Goldstein, a sophomore from New Port Richey, Florida, is pursuing a dual degree in management information systems and political science with a minor in urban and regional planning.

At FSU, Goldstein excels in civic leadership. He serves in student government, works part-time as a legislative aide in the Florida Senate, and works as an Institute Assistant at the Institute for Governance and Civics. He also completed fellowships through FSU’s Sustainable Campus, where he led solar and electric vehicle infrastructure projects.

Competing with students from universities such as Yale and Stanford, he credited FSU’s support in being selected for the Hertog Fellowship.

“Having faculty and staff who take the time to mentor students, connect us with opportunities, and say: ‘you should go for this’ makes all the difference,” Goldstein said.

Goldstein emphasized the intellectual growth he experienced during the fellowship through deep, collaborative discussions with peers from a variety of academic backgrounds.

“The best part is the depth of thought everyone brings,” Goldstein said. “You’ve got people from completely different academic backgrounds all reading the same text, yet each person walks away with a different insight. You find yourself rethinking your own views just by listening. It’s an environment where you speak not just to be heard, but to understand.”

He also values Hertog’s 1,900-strong alumni network.

“My hope is that down the line, we’ll have multiple students representing FSU each year and that this kind of rigorous, civic-minded programming becomes something our students actively pursue,” he said. 

Max Harden, a junior from Tampa, Florida, is a double major in economics and philosophy with a minor in classics. He is a student assistant at FSU’s Institute for Governance and Civics and a researcher at the DeVoe L. Moore Center, specializing in aerospace and labor economics. 

“These seminars are outstanding since they allow us to build upon our FSU education in dynamic ways,” Harden said. “Thucydides’ work is an examination of human nature in war and across history, variously considering economics, politics, philosophy and international affairs. We get to ask interdisciplinary questions and pursue comprehensive answers in a dedicated community.” 

At FSU, Harden participates in the Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) program under Assistant Teaching Professor Doug Norton, which equips students with analytical skills for opportunities like Hertog. He also credits professors Sam Staley and Randall Holcombe from the Department of Economics and Mark LeBar from the Department of Philosophy for investing in his intellectual formation inside and outside the classroom.  

“FSU students are given intellectual tools they can use to engage with scholars and top students from around the country by crossing disciplinary lines to seek answers to deep questions,” Harden said. “The PPE program fosters a unique ability to connect ideas across fields, preparing students to tackle complex issues with clarity and depth.” 

Harden looks forward to seeing more FSU students take advantage of programs like Hertog while continuing to explore the intersection of political theory and real-world policy. 

“I hope more FSU students pursue Hertog’s rigorous seminars,” Harden said. “I cannot thank my professors enough for investing in my growth as a student, intellectual and human. Thanks to them, this summer I will be working an economic policy internship that includes interdisciplinary discussion groups.” 

Matthew John Aguilera is a senior political science major from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

His academic path at FSU has been defined by a deep engagement with political science and international affairs, utilizing opportunities like the Hertog Fellowship to further his education in this field.

“I applied to the program because I was captivated by the idea of studying certain eternal principles of war and statecraft — what Thucydides sought to capture in his history, which he described ‘as a possession for all time,’ not something ‘to capture the applause of the moment,’” Aguilera said. “These lessons remain relevant to modern international affairs and politics.” 

Aguilera is currently interning with the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. and will attend the Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship at Hillsdale College to pursue a master’s degree in politics in the fall.

He values the opportunity to engage with Hertog’s robust academic community and looks forward to applying these insights in his future studies.

“I highly recommend the fellowship to anyone with an interest in the humanities and a passion for intellectual rigor,” he said.

To learn about fellowship opportunities, visit onf.fsu.edu.

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