Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 188,677, settled in 1891. Home to Broward College.
Trash day: look up yoursA town with more to fix than most. Cost of living is its weak spot — the typical home is worth about $510K, 6.7 years of the Miami metro’s $77K median household income. At C− overall, Fort Lauderdale ranks 496th of 634 in Florida. Nationally, it does better than 15% of U.S. towns. It lags on safety as well: it reports more crime per resident than 96% of U.S. towns, including 1,264 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Its best grade is for walkability: it is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. Hazard risk is weaker too: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 79% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. The city has 17 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them New River Inn and Stranahan House.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FBI crime data, 2025 · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Fort Lauderdale beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Broward College | 20,921 |
| Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale | 10,207 |
| Arizona College of Nursing-Fort Lauderdale | 412 |
U.S. Car. No. 1 is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 2,065 in 1920, 182,760 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1913 and 4 maps from 1949 on.
17 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Fort Lauderdale is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 94% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 2%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fort Lauderdale. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaHard Rock Stadium
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaNu Stadium
in town Stadium & arenaChase Stadium
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaKaseya Center
11 mi Stadium & arenaAmerant Bank Arena
26 mi Stadium & arenaLoanDepot ParkHard Rock Stadium: elisfkc2, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Nu Stadium: Cuban Boy, CC0 · Chase Stadium: elisfkc2, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Kaseya Center: jjron, GFDL 1.2 · Amerant Bank Arena: Yanjipy, CC BY-SA 4.0 · LoanDepot Park: Roberto Coquis, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fort Lauderdale, 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 Fort Lauderdale.
Fort Lauderdale draws workers from Pompano Beach and beyond and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Florida rate.
Violent crime runs at 6.6 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Florida rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on that grade. Property crime runs at 31.8 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Florida rate, most of it theft.
The rate of reported violence for Fort Lauderdale comes to 6.6 per 1,000 residents. Only 4 of the 132 Florida towns we compare have a higher property offense rate than Fort Lauderdale.
| Fort Lauderdale | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 31.8 per 1,000 residents | 12.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The public schools here belong to the Broward school district. Public school enrollment in Fort Lauderdale: 3,668 students across 6 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| New River Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,566 | C+ |
| Fort Lauderdale High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,260 | B |
| Bayview Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 530 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
169,682 jobs are based in Fort Lauderdale, 2.2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
15% of Fort Lauderdale residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Sunrise (5%), Pompano Beach (5%) and Miami (4%).
| Fort Lauderdale | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 5% | 8% |
| Work from home | 19% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $83,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In 57 parks and preserves, walkers have 22 miles of trail. The biggest place to walk is Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, 162 acres with 2 miles of trail. Fort Lauderdale’s trail network density comes in at 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Fort Lauderdale | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.9% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Holiday Park | 2.1 mi | 84 |
| 2. Hugh Taylor Birch State Park | 2 mi | 162 |
| 3. Sunland Park | 1.2 mi | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 6.7 years of the Miami metro’s $77K median household income, the typical home (about $510K) costs more against local pay than in 80% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. The median property tax bill is $4,516, against $2,730 across Florida, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
A home in Fort Lauderdale typically sold within 98 days of listing. In Fort Lauderdale, 54% of households are owner-occupiers, below both Florida’s towns (72%) and U.S. towns (73%). Also worth knowing: the town’s midpoint rent stands at $1,854 a month. A typical home locally is worth about $510,000, down 0.6% in a year, 36% above the Florida typical home.
| Fort Lauderdale | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,854 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 58% | 59% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3,894 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 407 properties have flooded more than once.
Fort Lauderdale has had 3,894 paid flood insurance claims since 1979. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 45% come from inland flooding and 41% from hurricanes. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 8 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 60°, milder than in 100% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.9°. The Ft Lauderdale Beach weather station records that about 70 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 84% of Florida places with climate records.
In Fort Lauderdale, the peak summer temperature is 90°F, near the Florida town median (91°F) and above the median of U.S. towns (85°F). For Fort Lauderdale, the January low is 60°F. It almost never snows.
| Fort Lauderdale | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 60°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among adults in Fort Lauderdale, 17% have been diagnosed with depression. In Fort Lauderdale, 30% of adults have obesity, and 39% sleep under 7 hours.
| Fort Lauderdale | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 23% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 36% |
| What stands out | Fort Lauderdale | FL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 9.9% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
188,677 people lived in Fort Lauderdale by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate, 3.3% more than in 2020. No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Florida average. For residents here, the share who are under 18 is 17%. The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 41%, against 34% across Florida.
| Fort Lauderdale | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 31% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 17% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 42.8 years | 42.4 years | 40.5 years |
48% women, 52% men
About 110 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1 point). Across Florida, 50.9% of residents are women. Among residents 65 to 74, 55% are men (FL 46%). Median age: women 42.4, men 43.3.
| Fort Lauderdale | FL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.5% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.8% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.1% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.5% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.8% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.4% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.2% | 13.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.4% | 11.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.3% | 9.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.3% | 10.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24% | 27.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.6% | 18.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.3% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.6% | 21.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.2% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
12 within 15 miles of the center of Fort Lauderdale
About 4 of every 100 Fort Lauderdale residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
4 colleges in town.
17 places in Fort Lauderdale on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Florida, United States
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, 30 miles (48 km) north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the seat of government of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth-most populous city in Florida. After Miami and Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale is the third-most populous city in the Miami metro area, which had a population of 6,166,488 in 2019. Built in 1838 and first incorporated in 1911, Fort Lauderdale is named after a series of forts built by the United States during the Second Seminole War. The forts took their name from Major William Lauderdale (1782–1838), younger brother of Lieutena…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Fort Lauderdale.
All 7 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C−; North Lauderdale (C−) is closest.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Lauderdale | #496 | C− | D− | D− | B | B |
| Oakland Park | #415 | C− | D | — | B | C+ |
| Wilton Manors | #223 | C+ | D− | — | B | B+ |
| Pompano Beach | #445 | C− | D | — | B | C+ |
| Dania Beach | #452 | C− | D | — | B | C+ |
| Tamarac | #411 | C | D | — | B | C+ |
| North Lauderdale | #463 | C− | D | — | B | C |
| Davie | #256 | C+ | D− | — | B | B+ |
Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, Pompano Beach, Dania Beach, Tamarac, North Lauderdale and Davie report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fort Lauderdale with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fort Lauderdale grades C− overall, better than 15% of U.S. towns and #496 of 634 in Florida. It grades B for health, D− for safety and B for schools. Cost of living 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 D−.
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