Is Sweetwater a good place to live?
Sweetwater grades C overall, 351st among Florida's 634 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 89% of U.S. towns. On the other side, FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 76% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Sweetwater’s January low is 58°F, against 51°F in Florida’s towns and 22°F across U.S. towns. Sweetwater's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns.
What makes Sweetwater stand out
Where Sweetwater beats most towns.
Jobs vs. working residents
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Sweetwater Elementary School | PK–5 | 463 |
Sweetwater has grown 54% since 2010
13,499 counted in 2010 and 19,363 in 2020; an estimated 20,828 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 7.6% since 2020, after 43.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Sweetwater grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Sweetwater is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Hard Rock Stadium and 66 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sweetwater. Close and well known come first.
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaHard Rock Stadium
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaNu Stadium
7 mi National ParkEverglades National Park778K visitors a year
10 mi Stadium & arenaLoanDepot Park
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaKaseya Center
2 mi Stadium & arenaPitbull StadiumPhoto credits
Hard Rock Stadium: elisfkc2, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Nu Stadium: Cuban Boy, CC0 · Everglades National Park: Everglades NPS from Homestead, Florida, United States, Public domain · LoanDepot Park: Roberto Coquis, CC BY 2.0 · Kaseya Center: jjron, GFDL 1.2 · Pitbull Stadium: Comayagua99, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Moving to Sweetwater: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sweetwater, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Sweetwater.
Sweetwater draws workers from Miami and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
Most working residents commute out of Sweetwater
17,025 jobs are based in Sweetwater, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 10,578 in 2013 to 17,025.
Most working residents leave Sweetwater for work: only 5% work in town. 16% of Sweetwater residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Sweetwater grew to 17,025 in 2023, 6,447 more than in 2013.
| Sweetwater | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.2% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
On state tests, Sweetwater’s schools beat 72% of Florida districts
Its public schools are run by the Miami-Dade school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetwater Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 463 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Sweetwater faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
215 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 55 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1992, 215 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sweetwater.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
More of Sweetwater’s adults get no exercise outside work than in the typical Florida or U.S. town
Against the 7,407 U.S. towns with household incomes like Sweetwater’s, it is healthier than 58%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income. All 4 graded neighbors score healthier than its C, from Westchester (B−) to Doral (A−).
41% of adults get no exercise outside work in Sweetwater. Sweetwater beats the Florida average on 4 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 14% of adults binge drink in Sweetwater.
| Sweetwater | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 25% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 15% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 14% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Sweetwater | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.7% | 9.1% |
| Fewer adults with depression | 13.5% | 17.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 36.8% | 15.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Sweetwater has mild winters and hot summers
January nights average 57.7°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91°.
Sweetwater has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Sweetwater’s July high is 91°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical home in Sweetwater is valued at about $447K
The typical Sweetwater home is worth about $447,000, about the same as a year ago, 19% above the Florida typical home. The median rent in Sweetwater is $1,771 a month.
| Sweetwater | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 42% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,771 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Crime reported in Sweetwater
Sweetwater's reported crime rate is well above Florida's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 46 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Sweetwater | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 18.8 per 1,000 residents | 12.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 1.6 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Sweetwater | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.2% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carlow Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Sweetwater
Colleges nearby
22 within 15 miles of the center of Sweetwater
About 8 of every 100 Sweetwater residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Florida.
Every workday, about 16,626 people come to Sweetwater for work
Where Sweetwater’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Sweetwater
City in the United States
Sweetwater, informally known as "Little Managua", a reference to the longstanding Nicaraguan community within the city, is located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,363, up from 13,499 in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 3 ft
- ZIP code
- 33100–33199
Sweetwater’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Sweetwater.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; Tamiami (C+) is closest.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetwater | #351 | C | C− | — | B+ | C |
| Fountainebleau | #194 | B− | D | — | B+ | B− |
| Tamiami | #303 | C+ | D− | — | B+ | B− |
| Doral | #82 | B | D− | B | B+ | A− |
| Westchester | #265 | C+ | D− | — | B+ | B− |
Sweetwater, Fountainebleau, Tamiami and Westchester report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Sweetwater with a neighbor →
Questions about Sweetwater
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Sweetwater, FL a good place to live?
Sweetwater grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #351 of 634 in Florida. It grades C for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Sweetwater, FL expensive?
Yes. That is 5.8 years of the area's median household income ($76,527 across the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.