The 10 Best Counties To Live In Florida For 2021


Using science and data, we can tell you which counties in Florida have the most for people looking to make the move to Florida.

Chris Kolmar, About HomeSnacks
December 30, 2020
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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 part of Florida, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 67 counties in the state.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Sunshine State for 2021.

Nassau County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Florida. And you might want to avoid Glades 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 cheapest places to live in Florida.

The Best Counties To Live In Florida For 2021

1. Nassau County

Fernandina Beach, FL

Source: Wikipedia User bubba73 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Yulee

Population: 83,098
Median Income: $69,943 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $230,900.0 (13th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.9% (4th best)
More on Nassau County: Photos | Data

2. St. Johns County

St. Augustine, FL

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Fruit Cove

Population: 244,674
Median Income: $82,252 (best)
Median Home Price: $304,700.0 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.6% (9th best)
More on St. Johns County: Photos | Data

3. Martin County

Stuart, FL

Source: Wikipedia User Daniel Di Palma | CC BY-SA 4.0

Biggest Place: Palm City

Population: 159,065
Median Income: $61,133 (13th best)
Median Home Price: $273,700.0 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.5% (7th best)
More on Martin County: Photos | Data

4. Santa Rosa County

Gulf Breeze, FL

Source: Wikipedia User Sunpowerpack | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Navarre

Population: 174,755
Median Income: $67,949 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $199,200.0 (23rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.4% (27th best)
More on Santa Rosa County: Photos | Data

5. Sumter County

Bushnell, FL

Source: Wikipedia User Ebyabe | GFDL

Biggest Place: The Villages

Population: 125,044
Median Income: $57,226 (20th best)
Median Home Price: $258,600.0 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.7% (2nd best)
More on Sumter County: Photos | Data

6. Collier County

Naples, FL

Source: Wikipedia User Marc Ryckaert (MJJR) | CC BY 2.5

Biggest Place: Golden Gate

Population: 371,453
Median Income: $69,653 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $360,800.0 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.9% (3rd best)
More on Collier County: Photos | Data

7. Monroe County

Key West, FL

Source: Wikipedia User Tore Sætre | CC BY-SA 4.0

Biggest Place: Key West

Population: 75,798
Median Income: $70,033 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $494,100.0 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.9% (best)
More on Monroe County: Photos | Data

8. Okaloosa County

Crestview, FL

Source: Wikipedia User Ebyabe | GFDL

Biggest Place: Crestview

Population: 203,794
Median Income: $63,412 (8th best)
Median Home Price: $219,100.0 (16th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.3% (22nd best)
More on Okaloosa County: Photos | Data

9. Seminole County

Altamonte Springs, FL

Source: Wikipedia User Xavier6984 | GFDL

Biggest Place: Sanford

Population: 461,402
Median Income: $66,768 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $242,600.0 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.0% (17th best)
More on Seminole County: Photos | Data

10. Clay County

Green Cove Springs, FL

Source: Wikipedia User Excel23 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Lakeside

Population: 211,405
Median Income: $65,740 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $185,400.0 (28th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.1% (43rd best)
More on Clay County: Photos | Data

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
Best Places To Retire In Florida

We then ranked each county in Florida across each of the criteria from one to 67, 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 Glades County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Florida.

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. Glades County
  2. Liberty County
  3. Hamilton County

For more Florida reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Florida

County Rank Population Median Income Median Home Price
Nassau County 1 83,098 $69,943 $230,900.0
St. Johns County 2 244,674 $82,252 $304,700.0
Martin County 3 159,065 $61,133 $273,700.0
Santa Rosa County 4 174,755 $67,949 $199,200.0
Sumter County 5 125,044 $57,226 $258,600.0
Collier County 6 371,453 $69,653 $360,800.0
Monroe County 7 75,798 $70,033 $494,100.0
Okaloosa County 8 203,794 $63,412 $219,100.0
Seminole County 9 461,402 $66,768 $242,600.0
Clay County 10 211,405 $65,740 $185,400.0
Charlotte County 11 181,067 $51,499 $195,400.0
Baker County 12 28,211 $63,275 $138,900.0
Sarasota County 13 419,496 $62,236 $251,600.0
Gulf County 14 15,576 $47,712 $160,700.0
Walton County 15 68,262 $58,093 $229,500.0
Wakulla County 16 32,321 $61,410 $144,000.0
Hillsborough County 17 1,422,278 $58,884 $216,300.0
Pinellas County 18 964,666 $54,090 $201,200.0
Manatee County 19 384,213 $59,009 $238,500.0
Indian River County 20 153,989 $54,740 $202,300.0
Brevard County 21 585,507 $56,775 $196,400.0
Lee County 22 737,468 $57,832 $224,800.0
Pasco County 23 524,602 $52,828 $162,100.0
Flagler County 24 109,801 $54,514 $217,500.0
Bay County 25 182,161 $54,316 $178,400.0
Alachua County 26 265,443 $49,689 $186,700.0
Duval County 27 936,186 $55,807 $180,700.0
Lake County 28 345,867 $54,513 $181,400.0
Palm Beach County 29 1,465,027 $63,299 $283,600.0
Escambia County 30 313,491 $50,915 $146,200.0
Leon County 31 289,770 $53,106 $203,100.0
Broward County 32 1,926,205 $59,547 $265,000.0
Osceola County 33 351,955 $52,279 $201,000.0
Jefferson County 34 14,161 $47,240 $133,500.0
St. Lucie County 35 312,947 $52,322 $186,900.0
Volusia County 36 536,487 $49,494 $175,000.0
Orange County 37 1,349,746 $58,254 $235,800.0
Gilchrist County 38 17,953 $43,640 $104,800.0
Polk County 39 686,218 $50,584 $150,800.0
Hernando County 40 186,313 $48,812 $142,500.0
Citrus County 41 145,169 $44,237 $131,500.0
Miami-Dade County 42 2,699,428 $51,347 $289,600.0
Suwannee County 43 44,046 $47,839 $101,300.0
Calhoun County 44 14,362 $38,568 $85,000.0
Marion County 45 353,526 $45,371 $139,900.0
Columbia County 46 69,968 $46,494 $124,200.0
Jackson County 47 47,945 $39,872 $99,000.0
Okeechobee County 48 41,144 $41,760 $106,000.0
Holmes County 49 19,432 $39,102 $92,700.0
Levy County 50 40,403 $37,326 $105,700.0
Taylor County 51 21,870 $40,306 $85,100.0
Bradford County 52 27,317 $45,921 $110,800.0
Hardee County 53 27,131 $38,682 $83,400.0
Highlands County 54 103,437 $40,942 $108,100.0
Union County 55 15,303 $44,270 $118,400.0
Desoto County 56 36,903 $35,438 $87,700.0
Franklin County 57 11,811 $46,643 $166,000.0
Madison County 58 18,460 $37,037 $89,100.0
Washington County 59 24,764 $37,022 $113,200.0
Lafayette County 60 8,637 $50,165 $104,700.0
Hendry County 61 40,732 $40,820 $94,500.0
Dixie County 62 16,589 $39,828 $78,500.0
Gadsden County 63 45,945 $41,401 $96,800.0
Putnam County 64 73,252 $37,670 $89,100.0
Hamilton County 65 14,326 $38,569 $80,100.0
Liberty County 66 8,345 $38,015 $75,100.0
Glades County 67 13,516 $40,977 $76,700.0
Download The Entire Florida Ranking Data
Editor’s Note: We updated this article for 2021. This is our seventh time ranking the best counties to live in Florida.

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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