Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
South Miami's standout: few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Overall it grades C+, 213th among Florida's 634 graded towns. It is healthier than 86% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $95K. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $829K, 10.8 years of the Miami metro’s $77K median household income. South Miami’s January low is 59°F, where Florida’s towns sit at 51°F and U.S. towns at 22°F. South Miami has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Arden "Doc" Thomas House.
Where South Miami beats most towns.
Where South Miami’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 South 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 →
Census counts: 1,160 in 1930, 12,026 in 2020. The archive holds 14 old photos and papers going back to 1936 and 4 maps from 1950 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around South Miami. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaHard Rock Stadium
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaNu Stadium
7 mi Stadium & arenaLoanDepot Park
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaKaseya Center
13 mi National ParkEverglades National Park778K visitors a year
6 mi MuseumVizcaya Museum and GardensHard Rock Stadium: elisfkc2, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Nu Stadium: Cuban Boy, CC0 · LoanDepot Park: Roberto Coquis, CC BY 2.0 · Kaseya Center: jjron, GFDL 1.2 · Everglades National Park: Everglades NPS from Homestead, Florida, United States, Public domain · Vizcaya Museum and Gardens: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in South 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 South Miami.
South Miami draws workers from Miami and beyond and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Florida.
10,505 jobs are based in South Miami, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave South Miami for work: only 6% work in town. South Miami’s average trip to work is 31 minutes. The top destinations are Miami (27%), Coral Gables (12%) and Kendall (4%).
| South Miami | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Miami-Dade school district. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Miami Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 720 | A− |
| Academica International Studies PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 377 | – |
| Somerset Academy Elementary School (South Miami Campus)Top results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 491 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Florida is COPD: 4.3% of its 9,773 adults have COPD, against 7.2% statewide.
14% of South Miami adults have been diagnosed with depression. South Miami beats the Florida average on 17 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 25% of South Miami adults have obesity.
| South Miami | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 32% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | South Miami | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.3% | 7.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.2% | 12.7% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 75.8% | 78.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 380 to 263 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in South Miami is 3.2 per 1,000 residents.
| South Miami | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.2 per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.2 per 1,000 residents | 12.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 59.2°, milder than in 100% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.3°.
South Miami has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
87 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 11 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1991, 87 flood insurance claims have been paid out in South Miami.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.7 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves.
| South Miami | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. South Miami Park | 0.2 mi | 10 |
| 2. Palmer Park | — | 9 |
| 3. Dante B Fassell Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 10.8 years of the Miami metro’s $77K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 96% of Florida towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. 75.8% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 60.1% across Florida.
60% of households own their home in South Miami.
| South Miami | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,764 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
22 within 15 miles of the center of South Miami
About 9 of every 100 South Miami residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
2 places in South Miami on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Florida, United States
South Miami is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The population was 12,026 as of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with South Miami.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Miami | #213 | C+ | D− | C− | B+ | A |
| Glenvar Heights | #119 | B | D− | — | B+ | A |
| Pinecrest | #17 | A− | D− | — | B+ | A+ |
Glenvar Heights and Pinecrest report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare South Miami with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
South Miami grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #213 of 634 in Florida. It grades A for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $829,000, 121% above 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 D−.
2 notable people were born here, including Eric Hosmer and Albert Reed.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
