12 Best Places to Live in Florida in 2024

If you are thinking about moving to Florida, you have come to the right place. Here you can find the info on 12 popular places on the peninsula about average household income, the population of each city as of 2024, and the unemployment rate. Take a look below to find out more about the best cities in Florida to live in.

Lighthouse Point

Lighthouse Point is a suburb of Fort Lauderdale and, if you want a low level of unemployment and poverty, you should know that the economy here is pretty strong. The median household income stands at around $81,445, and the unemployment rate is low as well, at 3.8%.

The schools in the area are of high quality, and you would be surprised at how much there is to do here. Below are the three main stats making this a great place to live in Florida.

• Population: 10,486
• Zillow Home Value Index: $773,030
• Poverty Rate: 5.8%

Key Biscayne

Next on the list is Key Biscayne, an island town with a median age of 42.4. If you live in this area, you’ll also gain access to everything Miami has to offer, since the cities are just 7.4 miles apart. What’s more, Key Biscayne is known for having a crime rate 70% lower than the national average.

However, this is not a spot everyone can afford: The Zillow Home Value Index for Key Biscayne is $1,343,864. That’s around for times the state average for Florida. On the other hand, the median income is also extremely high: $151,310 - the third-highest in the state. Key Biscayne is one of the best towns to live in Florida - if you are wealthy enough.

• Population: 14,809
• Zillow Home Value Index: $1,343,864
• Poverty Rate: 4.8%

Miami

Miami is one of the most populous areas in Florida. It is a major tourist destination, and it is known for having great weather year-round - except in hurricane season - and vibrant culture. The nightlife is the city’s main selling point. Unfortunately, this is also one of the most expensive places to live in the state of Florida. Miami's dominant language is Spanish, with over 60% of the population being Spanish speakers, even though the official language is English.

• Population: 442,241
• Zillow Home Value Index: $463,405
• Poverty Rate: 23.4%

Lakeland

Lakeland is one of the main coastal metro areas in Florida. Its name comes from the many lakes that dot the area. Lakeland’s population has grown rapidly over the past decade, and it now has well over 100,000 inhabitants. The median household income is much lower than in the previous cities on the list - $47,511 - and $20,000 below the national median household income, which sits at $67,521.

• Population: 112,641
• Zillow Home Value Index: $254,691
• Poverty Rate: 16.4%

Sanibel

This island town is a trendy tourist destination. There is plenty to do and see, and the town has the fifth-lowest crime rate in Florida. The majority of adult residents are highly educated, too - 61.1% have at least a bachelor’s degree. The median household income stands at $108,081 - over $40,000 above the national median. The house prices are in line with it, however, with Zillow’s Home Value Index estimating the average home to cost over $1 million.

• Population: 6,382
• Zillow Home Value Index: $1,099,880
• Poverty Rate: 6.7%

North Palm Beach

If you’re not hurting for money and are debating making the move to Florida, then North Palm Beach could be a good option. The home cost stands at $490,493, according to Zillow, and the median income for this location is $72,027. It’s one of the best towns to live in Florida if you are a young professional. 

If you’re thinking about buying your first home there, you’ll need to find a good lender, but if it works, you’ll have access to all its glory. The unemployment rate is only 2.5%, and the area has the thirteenth-lowest crime rate in the state of Florida.

• Population: 13,162
• Zillow Home Value Index: $490,493
• Poverty Rate: 6.6%

Palm Beach

Palm Beach is one of the best places to live if you want to relocate to the state of Florida. Of course, that also means you need to be able to afford it, and with the house prices here, that might be a bit of a feat.

Even though its unemployment rate is the tenth-lowest in the state and the median household income is the fourth highest, one interesting statistic puts this into perspective: The median age is 70. In other words, most people who come to live in Palm Beach have spent a lifetime working elsewhere, first.

This does make it one of the best places to live in Florida for retirees, and it’s full of natural beauty to admire, as well as shopping districts to have fun in.

• Population: 9,245
• Zillow Home Value Index: $1,636,808
• Poverty Rate: 5.4%

Satellite Beach

Satellite Beach is a very short drive from Palm Bay, and it has many beaches for you to choose from if you want a pleasant and relaxing day out. The median age of people who live here is quite low, standing at 44. This is relatively young when you look at Florida standards.

It is also one of the most popular places to live for young couples. The cost of living in this location is still high - the house prices average around the half-million mark - but it’s got an extremely low crime rate.

• Population: 11,226
• Zillow Home Value Index: $479,251
• Poverty Rate: 4.9%

Naples

This city in Florida is home to just over 19,000 people, making it the 104th-biggest town in the state. Naples is also touted as one of the best places to live in Florida, because of its proximity to the Everglades. For the same reason, it’s a favorite destination for ecotourists, too. The properties in Naples are not wildly more expensive than many of the locations on this list, and the median household income is pretty high: $107,013. The city has the eleventh-highest income across the state, and its schools are also rated very highly.

• Population: 19,115
• Zillow Home Value Index: $492,851
• Poverty Rate: 7.9%

Longboat Key

Longboat Key is an island town around an hour south of the famous Floridan city of St. Petersburg. Its population is pretty old: The median age is around 71. The residents are highly educated for the most part, as almost two-thirds (64.5%) of them have at least a bachelor’s degree. 

The older population would explain why the city has the highest number of health-insured residents in the state of Florida. You should also note that Longboat Key has extremely low violent crime rates: The Longboat Key Police Department reported no violent crime cases in 2020.

The poverty and unemployment rates are also fairly low, and the median household income is quite high: $114,762.

• Population: 7,505
• Zillow Home Value Index: $987,374
• Poverty Rate: 3.1%

Tequesta

Tequesta is home to safe streets, and although it’s not the best city to live in Florida - because it’s not a city at all, due to its size - the schools in the area are some of the best around. The median household income is low ($78,429) compared to the cost of housing, so you might want to save up first before moving there.

The people in the area understand the importance of education: It has the tenth-lowest rate of dropouts in the entire state of Florida, and 61.8% of residents have at least a bachelor’s degree.

• Population: 6,158
• Zillow Home Value Index: $560,023
• Poverty Rate: 7%

Parkland

Parkland is home to a robust community, and it is one of the best places to live in Florida for families. In fact, around 50% of the households in this location consist of married couples with children (the national average is about 40%).

Parkland also has the sixth-lowest poverty rate in Florida, and the median household income is exceptionally high: $154,844. It is the second-highest in the state, and the available homes in the area have a price tag of around $864,494, which is lower than expected for this income bracket.

• Population: 34,670
• Zillow Home Value Index: $864,494
• Poverty Rate: 4.5%

Conclusion

If you have enough money to accommodate the steep housing costs, the expression “Life's a beach” will be true in Florida. Residents can enjoy some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and most of the time, they will be right outside your door. Due to its proximity to the Caribbean, and Central America, the culture is vibrant and diverse. For example, more than half of Miami’s residents speak Spanish.

In this guide, we've listed some of the best places to live in Florida, but there are a few caveats to each: Most of them are pretty expensive, but offset this with high median incomes, access to good schools, and a highly educated population. If this is a worthy trade-off for you, it might just be time to move to the Sunshine state.