Across the hybrid multi-source index, Florida is roughly average in overall freedom, ranking #9 of 50 states with a score of 64.6/100. Its strongest areas are property rights, education choice, economic freedom, while it scores lowest in drug policy, criminal justice, regulatory burden.
Among the 50 states
Taller ticks are Florida’s bordering states.
Florida’s score, grade, rank and category breakdown follow the source you pick. How each is built
Default. Eight categories come from named outside publishers such as Fraser and NORML. Two are editorial.
The shape of the score
How Florida performs in each freedom category, ranked best to worst.
Ten freedoms
Each tile shows the score, where it ranks among the 50 states and how far it sits from the national average (the tick on the bar). Each score is drawn from the publisher listed on the tile. Hover the source chip for edition and methodology detail.
#25 of 50 states-0.2 vs. national average (6.8)
Florida ranks stronger than most states for free-speech protections, as measured by press-shield and anti-SLAPP laws, public-forum protections, and limits on protest restrictions.
#22 of 50 states+0.7 vs. national average (5.0)
Guns & Ammo 2023 — rank 22/50
Florida ranks near the national middle for gun rights (22nd of 50), as measured by carry permitting, magazine and assault-weapon limits, and red-flag laws.
#7 of 50 states+1.1 vs. national average (5.4)
IJ Policing for Profit 2025 — forfeiture grade C
Florida ranks stronger than most states for privacy and search protections, as measured by civil-asset-forfeiture limits, digital-warrant requirements, and surveillance rules.
#6 of 50 states+4.0 vs. national average (5.0)
Fraser EFNA 2024 (Overall subn score 7.64 for 2023) — rank 6/50
Florida ranks among the strongest in the nation for economic freedom (6th of 50), as measured by income, sales, and property taxes alongside the broader business climate.
#36 of 50 states-2.1 vs. national average (5.0)
Vera People in Prison 2024 — rank 36/50 (389/100k)
Florida ranks weaker than most states for criminal-justice fairness (36th of 50), as measured by incarceration rates, police accountability, and sentencing policy.
#29 of 50 states-1.3 vs. national average (6.8)
Cannabis status 2025 — Medical (comprehensive medical program, possession criminal)
Florida ranks near the national middle for drug-policy freedom, as measured by marijuana legality, decriminalization, and drug-offense sentencing.
#1 of 50 states+2.8 vs. national average (6.7)
IJ Eminent Domain 2025 — post-Kelo protections A
Florida ranks among the strongest in the nation for property rights, as measured by eminent-domain limits, zoning flexibility, and rent-control rules.
#11 of 50 states+0.9 vs. national average (6.6)
Florida ranks stronger than most states for religious liberty, as measured by a state RFRA, conscience protections, and religious-use accommodations.
#2 of 50 states+4.0 vs. national average (5.1)
EdChoice ABCs 2025 — universal (Full), 3 programs — top program covers 100% of students
Florida ranks among the strongest in the nation for school choice, as measured by vouchers, education savings accounts, and charter and homeschool access.
#40 of 50 states-2.9 vs. national average (5.3)
Mercatus RegData 2024 — rank 38/48 (170,321 restrictions)
Florida ranks among the weakest in the nation for regulatory freedom (38th of 48), as measured by occupational licensing and business-entry barriers.
Against the leaders
Measured against the average of the five top-scoring states in each category. This describes where Florida differs from high scorers on this index — it is not a claim that those policies are better.
Biggest gaps
+7.2 overall points available · highest: Idaho, South Dakota, North Dakota
+6.7 overall points available · highest: Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey
+4 overall points available · highest: Montana, Arizona, Missouri
+3.9 overall points available · highest: Wyoming, Idaho, Montana
+2.5 overall points available · highest: Maine, New Mexico, Wisconsin
Closing all 5 gaps to the top-5 average would move Florida up 24.3 points of overall score.
Strongest categories
9 vs national median 5 (+4)
9.1 vs national median 5.7 (+3.4)
6.5 vs national median 4.5 (+2)
How much any of this moves Florida's rank depends heavily on how the categories are weighted — see the sensitivity analysis. Florida profile
Next door
Overall freedom score for Florida and each state it borders.
Florida
#9 of 50
The signed figure is each state’s overall score minus Florida’s.
Two editions
Difference between the current FreedomRankings Hybrid score and the Cato 2023 score. Because the two use different methodologies and source sets, this is not a same-methodology historical trend.
5 categories are higher · 5 lower · 0 unchanged
Florida ranks #9 of 50 US states for overall freedom, with a score of 64.6/100 on the 2026 FreedomRankings index of constitutional rights, economic freedom, and personal liberty. Its strongest freedom is Property Rights (9.5/10); its weakest is Regulatory Burden (2.4/10).
Frequently Asked
Answers are generated from Florida's actual category scores and rank. Toggle the source to recompute against a different dataset.
Florida ranks #9 of 50 US states with a freedom score of 64.6/100. The score is a weighted average of 10 categories — constitutional rights, economic freedom, criminal justice, drug policy, education choice, and more — drawn from the FreedomRankings Hybrid multi-source index (Fraser Institute, EdChoice, Institute for Justice, Vera Institute, NORML, Mercatus RegData, Guns & Ammo).
Florida scores highest in Property Rights (9.5/10), Education Choice (9.1/10), and Economic Freedom (9/10). These are the categories where Florida is most protective of individual liberty relative to other US states.
Florida scores lowest in Regulatory Burden (2.4/10), Criminal Justice (2.9/10), and Drug Policy (5.5/10). These are the categories where Florida is most restrictive relative to other US states.
Florida scores 5.7/10 on Second Amendment / gun rights, which places it moderately restrictive on firearms. This score reflects carry laws, permit requirements, magazine and assault-weapon restrictions, red flag laws, and castle doctrine / stand-your-ground protections.
Florida scores 9/10 on economic freedom, placing it among the top states for economic freedom. The score reflects state income-tax rates, sales and property taxes, business tax climate, right-to-work status, and the overall regulatory burden on economic activity.
Florida scores 5.5/10 on drug policy, which makes it mixed on drug policy — some reforms but ongoing restrictions. The score incorporates recreational and medical marijuana legality, decriminalization of possession, harm-reduction programs, and sentencing for drug offenses.
Florida scores 9.1/10 on education choice, placing it among the top states for education freedom. The score reflects voucher programs, education savings accounts, charter-school access, homeschool regulations, and tax-credit scholarships.
Each of Florida's 10 category scores (0–10) is a weighted average, then multiplied by 10 to produce the overall 0–100 freedom score. Categories are weighted equally by default, but visitors can adjust the weights on the rankings page to produce a personalized ranking. The default source is the FreedomRankings Hybrid multi-source index; the Cato Institute 2023 edition and an editorial assessment are also available as toggles. See the methodology page for per-category source attribution.
Provenance
1st Amendment
FreedomRankings Editorial (no strong annual state-level source exists for 1st Amendment speech protections)
2nd Amendment
Guns & Ammo "Best States for Gun Owners"
4th Amendment
Institute for Justice -- "Policing for Profit" (asset forfeiture grades)
Economic Freedom
Fraser Institute -- Economic Freedom of North America (EFNA)
Criminal Justice
Vera Institute -- "People in Prison" (annual incarceration data)
Drug Policy
Per-state cannabis legality status (composite: NORML state pages, DISA legality map, NCSL medical cannabis tracker)
Property Rights
Institute for Justice -- Eminent Domain / Castle Coalition
Religious Liberty
FreedomRankings Editorial (no strong annual state-level source exists for religious liberty rankings)
Education Choice
EdChoice -- "ABCs of School Choice"
Regulatory Burden
Mercatus Center -- RegData state regulatory restrictions
Florida ranks #9 of 50 states for overall freedom in 2026, with a score of 64.6/100 — 7.0 points above the 50-state average of 57.6/100. It scores above the national average in 6 of its 10 freedoms, a quick read on whether Florida is broadly free or strong in just a few areas.
Florida’s best freedoms are property rights and education choice. Florida ranks among the strongest in the nation for property rights, as measured by eminent-domain limits, zoning flexibility, and rent-control rules. Florida ranks among the strongest in the nation for school choice, as measured by vouchers, education savings accounts, and charter and homeschool access.
Florida scores lowest on regulatory burden and criminal justice. Florida ranks among the weakest in the nation for regulatory freedom (38th of 48), as measured by occupational licensing and business-entry barriers. Florida ranks weaker than most states for criminal-justice fairness (36th of 50), as measured by incarceration rates, police accountability, and sentencing policy.
Florida’s closest neighbors in the ranking are North Carolina (#8, 65.4/100) and Indiana (#10, 64.2/100). Use the comparison tool to see exactly which freedoms separate them, category by category.
See how all 50 states stack up on the issues that drive Florida’s score.
Popular head-to-head matchups, or compare Florida with any state.
