Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 17,241, settled in 1921.
Belle Glade gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $291K, 3.8 years of the Miami metro’s $77K median household income. It grades C− overall, 471st of 634 graded towns in Florida. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $48K, and 27% of residents live below the poverty line, and its crime rate is higher than 96% of U.S. towns, with 191 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 92% of U.S. towns. 27% of residents live below the poverty line in Belle Glade, against 11% in Florida’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 60 of Florida’s 777 towns score lower on health. Belle Glade's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 95% of U.S. towns.
Where Belle Glade beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Belle Glade’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Belle Glade is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 92% of comparable towns) to D− for jobs and income (better than 3%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 926 in 1930, 16,698 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1928 and 2 maps from 1970 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Belle Glade, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Belle Glade.
Belle Glade trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, but it reports violent crime at 4 times the Florida rate.
Violent crime runs at 10.9 per 1,000 residents, 4 times the Florida rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Reported crimes fell from 704 to 452 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Belle Glade’s violent crime rate is 10.9 per 1,000 residents. Belle Glade reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 96% report less. Belle Glade’s property crime rate is 14.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Belle Glade | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.9 per 1,000 residents | 12.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Palm Beach school district. Two of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Glades Central High School, with 979 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gove Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 691 | C |
| Glades Central High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 979 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
33% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Belle Glade. Belle Glade beats the Florida average on 2 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 22. 18% of adults report frequent physical distress in Belle Glade.
| Belle Glade | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 20% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 25% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 37% | 36% |
| What stands out | Belle Glade | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.5% | 9.1% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.1% | 14.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 31.9% | 12.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
4.8 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. The trail density in Belle Glade is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Belle Glade | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 3% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave Belle Glade for work: only 15% work in town. Jobs based in Belle Glade grew to 4,589 in 2023, 923 more than in 2013. The top destinations are West Palm Beach (8%), Palm Springs (7%) and South Bay (4%).
| Belle Glade | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $48,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 5% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Homes are within reach (about $291K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 36 miles. Home values rose 38% in five years, to about $291K, against 19% across Florida.
43% of Belle Glade households own their home. Typical home values rose 6.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Belle Glade | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 43% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $898 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Belle Glade weather station records that about 124 days a year reach 90°, more than in 98% of U.S. towns. January nights average 54°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 92°.
Belle Glade has warm winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Belle Glade | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 54°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 2004, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Belle Glade.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Belle Glade; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Belle Glade residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
34 notable people were born in Belle Glade.
City in Florida, United States
Belle Glade is a city in south-central Florida in the far western part of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, on the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 census, Belle Glade had a population of 16,698. Belle Glade (and the surrounding area) is sometimes referred to as "Muck City" due to the large quantity of muck, in which sugarcane grows, found in the area. Despite being located in the South Florida region of the state, Belle Glade is culturally more associated with the Florida Heartland. For a time during the early to mid 1980s, the city had the highest rate of AIDS infection per capita (37 cases in a popu…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Belle Glade grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #471 of 634 in Florida. It grades D for health, D− for safety and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
34 notable people were born here, including Santonio Holmes and Kelvin Benjamin.