Brownsville in pictures
Census counts: 23,442 in 1970, 16,583 in 2020. The archive holds 4 maps from 1950 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Each edition grades its towns against each other only.

A town of 16,936.
Brownsville's standout: few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Overall it grades C−, 459th among Florida's 634 graded towns. Its weakest subject is health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 94% of the country. Brownsville’s January low is 60°F, where Florida’s towns sit at 51°F and U.S. towns at 22°F. Only 24 of Florida’s 779 towns score higher on history.
Where Brownsville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Brownsville’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 Brownsville is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for health (better than 6%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 23,442 in 1970, 16,583 in 2020. The archive holds 4 maps from 1950 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brownsville. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi Stadium & arenaHard Rock Stadium
Big draw4 mi Stadium & arenaNu Stadium
Big draw4 mi Stadium & arenaKaseya Center
3 mi Stadium & arenaLoanDepot Park
17 mi National ParkEverglades National Park778K visitors a year
6 mi MuseumVizcaya Museum and GardensHard Rock Stadium: elisfkc2, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Nu Stadium: Cuban Boy, CC0 · Kaseya Center: jjron, GFDL 1.2 · LoanDepot Park: Roberto Coquis, CC BY 2.0 · Everglades National Park: Everglades NPS from Homestead, Florida, United States, Public domain · Vizcaya Museum and Gardens: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0
Brownsville is unincorporated, so Miami-Dade 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 Brownsville.
Brownsville is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has poverty well above the Florida rate.
Against the 2,604 U.S. towns with household incomes like Brownsville’s, it is less healthy than 67%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
34% of Brownsville adults say their health is fair or poor. Brownsville beats the Florida average on 2 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 23. 19% of Brownsville adults report frequent physical distress.
| Brownsville | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 20% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 25% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 37% | 36% |
| What stands out | Brownsville | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5% | 9.1% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.1% | 14.6% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 41.5% | 16.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Miami-Dade school district. One of its 8 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brownsville Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 477 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Brownsville for work: only 2% work in town. 26% of residents live below the poverty line in Brownsville. Since 2013, Brownsville has added 882 jobs, to 4,881 in 2023.
| Brownsville | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 26% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $41,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.5% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
January nights average 60.2°, milder than in 100% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.9°.
Brownsville has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Brownsville’s July high is 90°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Home values rose 44% in five years, to about $431K, against 19% across Florida.
The typical Brownsville home is worth about $431,000, up 1.3% in a year, 15% above the Florida typical home. The median rent in Brownsville is $1,252 a month.
| Brownsville | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 36% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,252 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 35 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brownsville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.8 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves.
| Brownsville | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Martin Luther King Park | 0.6 mi | 9 |
| 2. Joseph Caleb Community Center | — | 8 |
| 3. Olinda Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
28 within 15 miles of the center of Brownsville
About 5 of every 100 Brownsville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
Census-designated place in Florida, United States
Brownsville (also known as Brown Sub) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) that is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 US census, the population was 16,583, up from 15,313 in 2010. After three decades of population loss, Brownsville gained population for the first time in over 40 years in the 2010 US Census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Brownsville.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownsville | #459 | C− | C− | — | B+ | D |
| Hialeah | #406 | C | D | C+ | B+ | C+ |
| Miami | #493 | C− | D− | D | B+ | C+ |
| Gladeview | #488 | C− | C− | — | B+ | D |
Brownsville and Gladeview report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Brownsville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Brownsville grades C− overall, better than 19% of U.S. towns and #459 of 634 in Florida. It grades D for health and B+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.