Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,258.
Big Pine Key's standout: it has 15 miles of trail and 49% conserved land. Overall it grades C+, ranked 286th of 634 in Florida. It is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Big Pine Key’s January low is 64°F, where Florida’s towns sit at 51°F and U.S. towns at 22°F. The biggest place to walk is National Key Deer Refuge, 3,296 acres with 8.8 miles of trail. Big Pine Key has 1 place on the National Register.
Where Big Pine Key beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Coastal flooding makes up 37% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
27.6% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Big Pine Key is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,350 in 1980, 4,521 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1973 and 2 maps from 1972 on.
Explore the history →Big Pine Key is unincorporated, so Monroe County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Big Pine Key.
Big Pine Key keeps more of its land conserved than most of Florida and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Florida.
At 8.6 years of the Key West area’s $88K median household income, the typical home (about $753K) costs more against local pay than in 91% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
The typical Big Pine Key home is worth about $753,000, up 3.6% in a year, about twice the Florida typical home. 88% of households own their home in Big Pine Key.
| Big Pine Key | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 88% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,724 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Monroe school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Pine AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 89 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Its 3,247 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other Florida town. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #3 of 638 in Florida.
15 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Big Pine Key’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. National Key Deer Refuge | 8.8 mi | 3,296 |
| 2. Big Pine Key Park | 0.5 mi | 10 |
| 3. Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary | — | 142 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Only 7 of the 638 Florida towns we compare have a higher FEMA risk score than Big Pine Key.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Big Pine Key for work: only 14% work in town. The median household income in Big Pine Key is $110,000. Jobs based in Big Pine Key grew to 815 in 2023, 66 more than in 2013.
| Big Pine Key | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $110,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
January nights average 64°, milder than in 100% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.4°. The Key West Nas weather station, 21 miles away, records that about 80 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 90% of Florida places with climate records.
Big Pine Key has warm winters and warm summers. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
25% of Big Pine Key residents are 65 or older. 31% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 34% across Florida.
| Big Pine Key | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 52.9 years | 42.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 14% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 20% | 18% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.4 points. Across Florida, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Big Pine Key | FL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.3% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.2% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.1% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.4% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 23% | 13.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.1% | 11.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.1% | 9.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.6% | 10.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.5% | 27.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 29.2% | 18.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.2% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.7% | 21.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.8% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,300, single groups can be off by several points
Against the 7,122 U.S. towns with household incomes like Big Pine Key’s, it is less healthy than 70%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Big Pine Key beats the Florida average on 9 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Big Pine Key | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 32% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Big Pine Key | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.1% | 13.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 11.6% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.7% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Big Pine Key; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Big Pine Key residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
49.3% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Census-designated place in Florida, United States
Big Pine Key is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Monroe County, Florida, United States, on an island of the same name in the Florida Keys. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 4,521.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Big Pine Key grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #286 of 634 in Florida. It grades B for health and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. That is 8.6 years of the area's median household income ($87,738 across the Key West-Key Largo, FL area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.