Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,754, settled in 1898.
LaBelle earns a D−, 619th of 634 graded towns in Florida, mostly because of schools and health. Its schools rank behind 95% of the state's. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 84% of the country. One bright spot: it has 8 miles of trail. LaBelle has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Forrey Building and Annex and Capt. Francis A. Hendry House. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 72% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Caloosahatchee Basin Water Storage Reservoir, at 604 acres with 1.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where LaBelle beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Edward A. Upthegrove Elementary | PK–5 | 552 |
| Labelle Elementary School | PK–5 | 446 |
| Hendry Virtual Instruction Program District Provided | K–5 | — |
Where LaBelle’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 LaBelle is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 377 in 1920, 4,966 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 2 maps from 1958 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in LaBelle, 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 LaBelle.
LaBelle draws workers from Port LaBelle and beyond, has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Its public schools are run by the Hendry school district. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward A. Upthegrove ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 552 | C+ |
| County Wide Exceptional Student EducationLargest public high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 5 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
3,884 jobs are based in LaBelle, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 35.3 minutes, against 28 across Florida.
Most working residents leave LaBelle for work: only 17% work in town. At 35 minutes, LaBelle’s average trip to work is above both Florida’s towns (27 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Jobs based in LaBelle grew to 3,884 in 2023, 1,361 more than in 2013.
| LaBelle | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 5% | 8% |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 6,884 U.S. towns with household incomes like LaBelle’s, it is less healthy than 68%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
30% of LaBelle adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance, against 14% in Florida’s towns and 8.1% across U.S. towns. 37% of LaBelle adults get no exercise outside work. LaBelle beats the Florida average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 20.
| LaBelle | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 20% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 25% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | LaBelle | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.5% | 9.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 29.9% | 15.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Caloosahatchee Basin Water Storage Reservoir | 1.2 mi | 604 |
| 2. LaBelle Nature Park | 1 mi | 12 |
| 3. Hendry LaBelle Civic Park | 0.6 mi | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Since 1982, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in LaBelle.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical value, about $282K, is 8% below its March 2024 peak. 82.8% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 60.1% across Florida.
The typical LaBelle home is worth about $282,000, down 3.9% in a year, 25% below the Florida typical home. The median rent in LaBelle is $1,650 a month.
| LaBelle | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,650 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Immokalee weather station, 18 miles away, records that about 123 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns. January nights average 51.4°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 92.2°.
LaBelle has warm winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. LaBelle’s January low is 51°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| LaBelle | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 51°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
None within 15 miles of LaBelle; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 LaBelle residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
7.5% of the town is conserved land, across 8 parks and preserves.
5 places in LaBelle on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Florida, United States
LaBelle is a city in and the county seat of Hendry County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,966 at the 2020 census, up from 4,640 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Clewiston, FL Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA). It was named for Laura June Hendry and Carrie Belle Hendry, daughters of pioneer cattleman Francis Asbury Hendry. LaBelle hosts the annual Swamp Cabbage Festival, which is held in honor of the Florida state tree during the last full weekend of February.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with LaBelle.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LaBelle | #619 | D− | C | — | D | C− |
| Port LaBelle | #633 | D− | C− | — | D | D |
| Fort Denaud | — | — | C− | — | D | D |
Fort Denaud has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. LaBelle, Port LaBelle and Fort Denaud report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare LaBelle with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
LaBelle grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #619 of 634 in Florida. It grades C− for health and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
