Best places to live in Florida
8 Florida metros scored on the default family weighting — schools and safety heaviest, then affordability, climate, college pipeline and jobs. Change the weights on the ranking engine to see your own order.
Who lives in Florida
Population-weighted racial and ethnic composition across the 8 tracked Florida metros, from Census ACS table B03002.
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 45.4%
- Hispanic or Latino
- 31.4%
- Black (non-Hispanic)
- 15.3%
- Asian (non-Hispanic)
- 3.2%
- Other or two or more
- 4.7%
Diversity index 78/100 — how evenly the population is spread across these groups. It is descriptive, not a judgement: weight it up, down or to zero on the ranking engine.
| # | Metro | Score | US rank | Typical home | Schools | Safety | Climate | Diversity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacksonville | 52.7 | #46 of 103 | $351k | 72 | 87 | 43° / 92° | 75 |
| 2 | Orlando | 51.4 | #48 of 103 | $383k | 67 | 87 | 49° / 92° | 86 |
| 3 | Miami | 50.3 | #52 of 103 | $477k | 64 | 87 | 61° / 89° | 83 |
| 4 | Pensacola | 47.9 | #61 of 103 | $309k | 55 | 87 | 43° / 90° | 63 |
| 5 | Tampa | 47.1 | #68 of 103 | $357k | 66 | 87 | 52° / 90° | 74 |
| 6 | Sarasota | 46.5 | #72 of 103 | $402k | 81 | 87 | 51° / 91° | 53 |
| 7 | Fort Myers | 40.4 | #87 of 103 | $362k | 64 | 87 | 54° / 92° | 68 |
| 8 | Naples | 39.6 | #90 of 103 | $552k | 80 | 87 | 56° / 91° | 67 |
Figures are compiled estimates. Methodology and sources.