Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 113,579, settled in 1990.
Miami Gardens earns a D, 507th among Florida's 634 graded towns, mostly because of health. Residents are less healthy than 75% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. In its favor, it is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns. Miami Gardens’ January low is 59°F, above both Florida’s towns (51°F) and U.S. towns (22°F). Miami Gardens is home to St. Thomas University. Miami Gardens's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 90% of U.S. towns.
Where Miami Gardens beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Norland Elementary School | PK–5 | 536 |
| Scott Lake Elementary School | PK–5 | 472 |
| Norwood Elementary School | PK–5 | 443 |
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| St. Thomas University | 4,588 |
| Florida Memorial University | 1,348 |
2 colleges in town.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Miami Gardens is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 116,713 in 1990, 111,640 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1964 and 5 maps from 1947 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Miami Gardens. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town Stadium & arenaHard Rock Stadium
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaNu Stadium
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaKaseya Center
12 mi Stadium & arenaLoanDepot Park
21 mi National ParkEverglades National Park778K visitors a year
15 mi Stadium & arenaAmerant Bank ArenaHard 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 · Amerant Bank Arena: Yanjipy, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Miami Gardens, 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 Gardens.
Miami Gardens has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has seen reported crime rise by about half and has a long record of flood insurance claims.
32% of Miami Gardens adults worry about having enough food. Miami Gardens beats the Florida average on 4 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 22% of Miami Gardens adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Miami Gardens | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 15% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 37% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 23% |
| What stands out | Miami Gardens | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.3% | 9.1% |
| Fewer adults with depression | 14.1% | 17.1% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 16.5% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Miami-Dade school district. Three of its 58 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norland Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 656 | D |
| Miami Norland Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,653 | D |
| North Dade Center for Modern LanguagesTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 315 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here grew from 23,970 in 2013 to 32,395.
Most working residents leave Miami Gardens for work: only 6% work in town. The average trip to work in Miami Gardens is 32 minutes. Jobs based in Miami Gardens grew to 32,395 in 2023, 8,425 more than in 2013.
| Miami Gardens | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 8.9% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes rose from 1,275 to 2,468 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. At 29.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 59% of Florida’s graded towns.
Miami Gardens’ violent crime rate is 3.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Miami Gardens | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.4 per 1,000 residents | 12.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Home values rose 42% in five years, to about $475K, against 19% across Florida.
The typical Miami Gardens home is worth about $475,000, up 1% in a year, 26% above the Florida typical home. 68% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent in Miami Gardens.
| Miami Gardens | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 68% | 59% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,787 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 64% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
144 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 28 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 1998, 144 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Miami Gardens.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 58.8°, milder than in 100% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.5°.
Miami Gardens has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
3.1 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Rolling Oaks Park, at 33 acres.
| Miami Gardens | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.6% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Betty T. Ferguson Recreation Complex | 1.4 mi | 24 |
| 2. Rolling Oaks Park | 0.1 mi | 33 |
| 3. Miami Carol City Park | — | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
29 within 15 miles of the center of Miami Gardens
About 6 of every 100 Miami Gardens residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
Where Miami Gardens’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 notable people were born in Miami Gardens.
City in the United States
Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located 16 miles (26 km) north of downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th and Northwest 57th Avenues to its west, and from the Broward County line to its north to 151st Street to its south. The city's name originated from Florida State Road 860, a major roadway through the area also known as Miami Gardens Drive. It had a population of 111,640 as of 2020. Miami Gardens is Florida's most populous city with a majority African American population and also home to the largest percentage of African Americans (66.9…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Miami Gardens.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Gardens | #507 | D | D | C | B+ | C− |
| Ives Estates | #170 | B− | D | — | B+ | B+ |
| Miramar | #155 | B− | D− | B | B | B+ |
| Opa-locka | #440 | C− | C− | — | B+ | D |
| Biscayne Gardens | — | — | D− | — | B+ | — |
| West Park | #532 | D | D | — | B | D |
| North Miami Beach | #490 | C− | D | D | B+ | C+ |
Ives Estates, Opa-locka, Biscayne Gardens and West Park report no FBI crime data of their own. Biscayne Gardens isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Miami Gardens with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Miami Gardens grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #507 of 634 in Florida. It grades C− for health, C for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 6.2 years of the area's median household income ($76,527 across the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro area).
5 notable people were born here, including Diamanté and Jeremiah Smith.
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