LelyFL
A town of 3,804.
Is Lely a good place to live?
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 95% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Overall it grades B−, 167th among Florida's 634 graded towns. Its public schools beat 83% of Florida towns on state tests and graduation. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $326K, 3.6 years of the Naples metro’s $90K median household income.
97% of working residents leave Lely for work
Where Lely’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Lely grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Lely is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Lely: who provides what
Lely is unincorporated, so Collier 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Lely.
Lely is a second-home town, has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Lely has set aside 0.4% of its land for conservation
9.5 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The trail density in Lely is 6.3 miles per square mile. More trails than any other town in Florida.
| Lely | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 6.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.4% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cindy Mysels Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
51% of residents are 65 or older
32.6% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 7.8% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
People 65 and older are 51% of residents (21% statewide); children under 18 are 9% of residents (20% statewide). 35% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 34% across Florida.
| Lely | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 9.1% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 65.3 years | 42.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 31% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.5 points). Across Florida, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Lely | FL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.9% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3.1% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.9% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 6.7% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 5.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.2% | 13.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17% | 11.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 33.5% | 9.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4% | 10.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.6% | 27.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.1% | 18.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.1% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23% | 21.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.1% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,800, single groups can be off by several points
Lely faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by hurricanes
Since 1995, 28 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lely.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most of Lely’s workers commute out: the town has 0.5 jobs for each of them
The average commute for its 1,449 working residents takes 19.1 minutes, against 28 across Florida.
Most working residents leave Lely for work: only 3% work in town. Lely’s average trip to work is 19 minutes. Jobs based in Lely grew to 743 in 2023, 85 more than in 2013.
| Lely | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.8% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.6% | 5% | 8% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Lely is healthier than 66% of U.S. towns
Against the 10,506 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lely’s, it is healthier than 83%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Lely beats the Florida average on 18 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 9.4% of adults binge drink in Lely.
| Lely | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 9.4% | 15% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 37% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Lely | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.5% | 16.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 18.3% | 9.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Lely has mild winters and hot summers
The Naples Muni Ap weather station records that about 104 days a year reach 90°, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. January nights average 54.4°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 92°.
Lely has warm winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Lely | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 54°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 91°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
A home in Lely sells for about $235K at the median
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everglades National Park and 11 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lely. Close and well known come first.
22 mi National ParkEverglades National Park778K visitors a year
24 mi National PreserveBig Cypress National Preserve2.3M visitors a year
23 mi Stadium & arenaHertz Arena
6 mi Zoo & aquariumNaples Zoo24 mi State parkMound Key Archeological State Park
23 mi State parkKoreshan State Historic SitePhoto credits
Everglades National Park: Everglades NPS from Homestead, Florida, United States, Public domain · Big Cypress National Preserve: Gzzz, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hertz Arena: Tthaas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Naples Zoo: Exupery67, CC BY 4.0 · Koreshan State Historic Site: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Everything we know about Lely
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Lely
About 6 of every 100 Lely residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
About Lely
Census-designated place in Florida, United States
Lely is a census-designated place (CDP) in Collier County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,694 at the 2020 census, up from 3,451 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 10 ft
- Area code
- 239
Lely’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Lely.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lely | #167 | B− | C− | — | A− | B+ |
| Lely Resort | #191 | B− | D− | — | A− | A |
| Naples Manor | #491 | C− | C | — | A− | D |
Lely, Lely Resort and Naples Manor report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lely with a neighbor →
Questions about Lely
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lely, FL a good place to live?
Lely grades B− overall, better than 50% of U.S. towns and #167 of 634 in Florida. It grades B+ for health and A− for schools, and has the most trail per square mile in the state. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Lely, FL expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $326,000, 13% below the Florida typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.