Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Miami is a city of 489,812, and it grades C− overall, ranked 493rd of 634 in Florida. It is among the most walkable places in the country. The trade-offs: the typical home is worth about $584K, 7.6 years of the Miami metro’s $77K median household income, and its police reported 1,787 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 87% of U.S. towns. 34% of working residents work locally in Miami, where Florida’s towns sit at 5% and U.S. towns at 8%. Its National Register listings include Vizcaya and Freedom Tower. Only 9 of the 638 Florida towns we compare have a lower share of households owning their home than Miami.
Where Miami beats most towns.
Vizcaya
Vizcaya is one of 4 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its founding year, 1825, comes before those of 96% of the Florida towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 1,681 in 1900, 442,241 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 4 maps from 1950 on.
74 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Miami is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 1%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Miami. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town Stadium & arenaNu Stadium
Big drawin town Stadium & arenaKaseya Center
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaHard Rock Stadium
in town Stadium & arenaLoanDepot Park
in town MuseumVizcaya Museum and Gardens
18 mi National ParkEverglades National Park778K visitors a yearNu Stadium: Cuban Boy, CC0 · Kaseya Center: jjron, GFDL 1.2 · Hard Rock Stadium: elisfkc2, CC BY-SA 2.0 · LoanDepot Park: Roberto Coquis, CC BY 2.0 · Vizcaya Museum and Gardens: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Everglades National Park: Everglades NPS from Homestead, Florida, United States, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Miami, 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 Miami.
Miami draws workers from Hialeah and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
306,106 jobs are based in Miami, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Miami’s working residents works in town. 19% of Miami residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Miami has added 59,016 jobs, to 306,106 in 2023.
| Miami | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 16% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Miami-Dade school district. Three of its 136 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citrus Grove K-8 CenterLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 1,583 | C− |
| Miami Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 3,100 | C− |
| I Preparatory AcademyTop results in townGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 781 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
At 7.6 years of the Miami metro’s $77K median household income, the typical home (about $584K) costs more against local pay than in 87% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Home values rose 40% in five years, to about $584K, against 19% across Florida.
The median rent in Miami is $1,758 a month. The typical Miami home is worth about $584,000, up 1.4% in a year, 55% above the Florida typical home. 63% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent in Miami.
| Miami | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,758 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 63% | 59% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Property crime runs at 22.3 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Florida rate, most of it theft. Reported crimes fell from 15,566 to 12,886 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Miami’s property crime rate is 22.3 per 1,000 residents. Miami reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 87% report less. Miami’s violent crime rate is 3.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Miami | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.3 per 1,000 residents | 12.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
26 miles of trail in 79 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Area, at 795 acres.
| Miami | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Virginia Key Beach North Point Park | 2.4 mi | 328 |
| 2. Historic Virginia Key Beach Park | 2.1 mi | 77 |
| 3. Bayfront Park | 1.7 mi | 29 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
January nights average 60.6°, milder than in 100% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.8°.
Miami has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Miami | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 61°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Only 30.8% of households own their home, against 67.6% across Florida.
People 65 and older are 16% of residents (21% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 26% of residents (21% statewide). Miami has grown 11% since 2020, to 489,812 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 38% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 34% across Florida.
| Miami | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 17% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 38% | 31% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| Median age | 39.3 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
49.2% women, 50.8% men
About 103 men for every 100 women. Across Florida, 50.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 40.3, men 38.6.
| Miami | FL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.7% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.9% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.3% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 18.6% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.6% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.1% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13% | 13.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.5% | 11.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.5% | 9.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 18.7% | 10.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.3% | 27.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 10.8% | 18.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.7% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.6% | 21.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.9% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
4,323 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 303 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1986, 4,323 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Miami.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 9,508 U.S. towns with household incomes like Miami’s, it is healthier than 64%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Miami beats the Florida average on 6 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 14.
| Miami | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 23% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Miami | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.7% | 9.1% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 20% | 26.6% |
| More uninsured adults | 27.2% | 15.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
23 within 15 miles of the center of Miami
About 7 of every 100 Miami residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
3 colleges in town.
74 places in Miami on the National Register of Historic Places.
25 notable people were born in Miami.
City in Florida, United States
Miami is a coastal city in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the second-most populous city proper in Florida, with a population of 442,241 at the 2020 census. The Miami metropolitan area in South Florida has an estimated 6.39 million residents, ranking as the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the Southeast and eighth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Miami has the third-largest skyline in the U.S. with over 300 high-rises, 70 of which exceed 492 ft (150 m). It is the county seat of Miami-Dade County. Miami is a major urban center and leader in finance, commerce, culture, arts, and international trade. Miami's metropolitan area is the largest urban econ…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Miami.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C−; Gladeview (C−) is closest.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | #493 | C− | D− | D | B+ | C+ |
| Coral Gables | #52 | B+ | D− | B− | B+ | A |
| El Portal | — | — | D− | — | B+ | B |
| West Little River | #428 | C− | D | — | B+ | C |
| Miami Beach | #172 | B− | D− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Gladeview | #488 | C− | C− | — | B+ | D |
| Fisher Island | — | — | D− | — | B+ | A− |
| Brownsville | #459 | C− | C− | — | B+ | D |
El Portal and Fisher Island have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. El Portal, West Little River, Miami Beach, Gladeview, Fisher Island and Brownsville report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Miami with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Miami grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #493 of 634 in Florida. It grades C+ for health, D for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
25 notable people were born here, including Sidney Poitier and Marco Rubio.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}