These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Florida For 2018

Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment: is Florida a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best places to live in Florida.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Sunshine State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been helping people find the best places to live in America for years.

So, the question becomes, if you wanted to relocate to the best pat of Florida, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 56 counties in the state.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Sunshine State for 2018:

1. Nassau County (Photos)
2. Santa Rosa County (Photos)
3. St. Johns County (Photos)
4. Sumter County (Photos)
5. Okaloosa County (Photos)
6. Collier County (Photos)
7. Monroe County (Photos)
8. Martin County (Photos)
9. Clay County (Photos)
10. Seminole County (Photos)

Nassau County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Florida. And you might want to avoid Madison County if you can — at least according to the data.

So if you’re thinking of making the move Florida, we’ve got you covered. Keep on reading for a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Florida and the best places to raise a family in Florida.

How do you determine which Florida county is the best?

To give you the best county in Florida, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we need to make some assumptions about what’s a ‘best county’ and what isn’t. And, for reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, don’t take this analysis to court.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best sources of data on the internet; the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent time period.

We paid particular attention to:

• Violent Crime Rates
• Property Crime Rates
• Median Home Values
• Median Income
• Unemployment Rates
• Adult Education Levels
• Health Insurance Coverage
• Poverty Rates

We then ranked each county in Florida across each of the criteria from one to 56, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the ‘Best County To Live In Florida’.

The result is some of the safest, quiet, and best counties to raise a family in the Sunshine State.

Read on to see why Nassau County is the best county, while Madison County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Florida.

1. Nassau County

Biggest Place: Yulee
Population: 77,187
Median Income: $59,196 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $192,600 (26th best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6% (11th best)
More on Nassau County: Photos | Data

2. Santa Rosa County

Biggest Place: Navarre
Population: 163,903
Median Income: $60,652 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $165,500 (36th best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.1% (6th best)
More on Santa Rosa County: Photos | Data

3. St. Johns County

Biggest Place: Fruit Cove
Population: 218,362
Median Income: $69,523 (1st best)
Median Home Price: $259,900 (19th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.0% (2nd best)
More on St. Johns County: Photos | Data

4. Sumter County

Biggest Place: The Villages
Population: 113,589
Median Income: $52,594 (13th best)
Median Home Price: $227,000 (20th best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.9% (15th best)
More on Sumter County: Photos | Data

5. Okaloosa County

Biggest Place: Wright
Population: 195,798
Median Income: $57,655 (8th best)
Median Home Price: $191,800 (27th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.5% (4th best)
More on Okaloosa County: Photos | Data

6. Collier County

Biggest Place: Golden Gate
Population: 348,236
Median Income: $59,783 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $291,900 (18th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.4% (3rd best)
More on Collier County: Photos | Data

7. Monroe County

Biggest Place: Key West
Population: 77,150
Median Income: $60,303 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $400,800 (17th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.9% (1st best)
More on Monroe County: Photos | Data

8. Martin County

Biggest Place: Palm City
Population: 153,592
Median Income: $52,622 (12th best)
Median Home Price: $209,700 (23rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 8.4% (25th best)
More on Martin County: Photos | Data

9. Clay County

Biggest Place: Lakeside
Population: 200,346
Median Income: $59,179 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $157,600 (39th best)
Unemployment Rate: 8.9% (31st best)
More on Clay County: Photos | Data

10. Seminole County

Biggest Place: Sanford
Population: 442,905
Median Income: $58,538 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $188,400 (28th best)
Unemployment Rate: 8.0% (17th best)
More on Seminole County: Photos | Data

There You Have It – The Best Counties In Florida To Call Home For 2018

It turns out living in Florida can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

But now you the know the really good parts and the parts to avoid and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day. And for that, you are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Florida according to the data:

1. Madison County
2. Putnam County
3. Miami-Dade County

For more Florida reading, check out:

• The Most and Least Diverse Cities In Florida
• These Are The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Florida
• 10 Best Cities For Singles In Florida
• 10 Safest Places In Florida

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Florida

County	Rank	Population	Median Income	Median Home Price
Nassau County	1	77,187	$59,196	$192,600
Santa Rosa County	2	163,903	$60,652	$165,500
St. Johns County	3	218,362	$69,523	$259,900
Sumter County	4	113,589	$52,594	$227,000
Okaloosa County	5	195,798	$57,655	$191,800
Collier County	6	348,236	$59,783	$291,900
Monroe County	7	77,150	$60,303	$400,800
Martin County	8	153,592	$52,622	$209,700
Clay County	9	200,346	$59,179	$157,600
Seminole County	10	442,905	$58,538	$188,400
Charlotte County	11	169,642	$44,865	$154,400
Manatee County	12	353,411	$51,483	$178,700
Sarasota County	13	398,011	$52,796	$196,800
Hillsborough County	14	1,323,059	$51,681	$167,400
Flagler County	15	102,917	$48,898	$174,700
Alachua County	16	256,581	$44,702	$165,700
Bay County	17	178,361	$48,577	$162,500
Pinellas County	18	939,548	$47,090	$157,500
Pasco County	19	488,310	$46,010	$122,100
Escambia County	20	309,574	$46,117	$121,800
Gilchrist County	21	17,033	$40,881	$94,400
Indian River County	22	145,342	$47,446	$160,900
Duval County	23	900,890	$49,196	$146,400
Broward County	24	1,863,780	$52,954	$202,300
Leon County	25	284,788	$48,248	$183,800
Lake County	26	317,586	$47,141	$145,100
Taylor County	27	22,582	$36,195	$83,200
Washington County	28	24,627	$38,330	$93,700
Palm Beach County	29	1,398,757	$55,277	$222,700
Brevard County	30	560,683	$49,914	$150,500
Jefferson County	31	14,082	$41,696	$123,300
Calhoun County	32	14,550	$37,089	$80,300
Lee County	33	680,970	$50,390	$171,100
Jackson County	34	48,721	$35,470	$92,200
Gulf County	35	15,851	$40,822	$131,400
Orange County	36	1,256,055	$49,391	$173,700
Franklin County	37	11,705	$40,301	$124,500
Bradford County	38	26,919	$43,373	$92,000
Hamilton County	39	14,362	$38,980	$71,000
Highlands County	40	98,862	$35,865	$86,600
Volusia County	41	510,806	$42,240	$139,000
Hernando County	42	176,797	$42,274	$112,300
Osceola County	43	311,962	$45,536	$146,500
St. Lucie County	44	293,136	$44,140	$137,700
Marion County	45	340,341	$40,295	$114,400
Polk County	46	637,691	$44,146	$110,400
Levy County	47	39,707	$35,480	$86,700
Hardee County	48	27,302	$36,222	$78,800
Suwannee County	49	43,653	$37,796	$88,700
Desoto County	50	35,134	$35,513	$82,300
Okeechobee County	51	39,420	$36,415	$90,800
Hendry County	52	38,376	$37,552	$70,600
Gadsden County	53	46,153	$38,533	$105,100
Miami-Dade County	54	2,664,418	$44,224	$221,100
Putnam County	55	72,304	$33,003	$84,100
Madison County	56	18,560	$29,806	$81,100