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 counties 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 using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.
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.
St. Johns County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Florida. And you should avoid DeSoto County if you can — at least according to the data.
$109,839 median income · 3.3% unemployment
$89,804 median income · 4.5% unemployment
$83,416 median income · 3.7% unemployment
$85,761 median income · 4.2% unemployment
$87,820 median income · 3.8% unemployment
$87,738 median income · 2.9% unemployment
$91,922 median income · 4.5% unemployment
$81,998 median income · 3.8% unemployment
$90,045 median income · 3.9% unemployment
$81,895 median income · 3.3% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Florida’s statewide median.
Florida statewide median: $74,568
Florida statewide median: $375,662
Florida statewide median: 4.8%
On the map
Where Florida’s best counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: 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 made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent 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 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, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Sunshine State.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best counties to live in Florida.
Read on to see why St. Johns County is the best county, while DeSoto County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Florida.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Florida
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Johns County | 306,934 | $109,839 | $511,904 |
| 2 | Nassau County | 97,859 | $89,804 | $476,240 |
| 3 | Sarasota County | 459,547 | $83,416 | $398,504 |
| 4 | Seminole County | 481,470 | $85,761 | $402,789 |
| 5 | Clay County | 227,584 | $87,820 | $333,593 |
| 6 | Monroe County | 81,860 | $87,738 | $953,396 |
| 7 | Santa Rosa County | 198,472 | $91,922 | $348,682 |
| 8 | Okaloosa County | 216,599 | $81,998 | $353,996 |
| 9 | Collier County | 398,291 | $90,045 | $559,053 |
| 10 | Wakulla County | 35,387 | $81,895 | $283,505 |
| 11 | Flagler County | 126,528 | $77,363 | $348,504 |
| 12 | Sumter County | 143,408 | $76,508 | $391,381 |
| 13 | Martin County | 162,176 | $82,943 | $443,671 |
| 14 | Brevard County | 632,780 | $78,476 | $341,312 |
| 15 | Indian River County | 166,936 | $73,491 | $363,842 |
| 16 | Lake County | 412,924 | $73,161 | $362,902 |
| 17 | Pinellas County | 963,481 | $72,646 | $365,896 |
| 18 | Manatee County | 429,792 | $78,457 | $409,997 |
| 19 | Volusia County | 579,622 | $70,044 | $322,057 |
| 21 | Charlotte County | 201,064 | $69,952 | $297,783 |
| 21 | Hillsborough County | 1,522,748 | $79,540 | $377,186 |
| 21 | Pasco County | 611,444 | $70,492 | $331,106 |
| 21 | Gulf County | 15,131 | $61,179 | $400,899 |
| 24 | Walton County | 82,948 | $81,986 | $661,183 |
| 25 | Palm Beach County | 1,533,806 | $83,581 | $467,965 |
| 26 | Bay County | 186,393 | $73,533 | $342,263 |
| 27 | Alachua County | 285,492 | $61,949 | $305,454 |
| 28 | Lee County | 817,666 | $76,107 | $339,954 |
| 29 | Duval County | 1,023,153 | $71,277 | $292,596 |
| 29 | Orange County | 1,471,937 | $79,719 | $403,361 |
| 31 | Baker County | 28,430 | $79,836 | $314,798 |
| 32 | Broward County | 1,977,129 | $77,633 | $421,929 |
| 33 | Osceola County | 427,415 | $72,637 | $362,584 |
| 34 | Leon County | 297,542 | $66,287 | $291,301 |
| 35 | Hernando County | 207,018 | $66,058 | $309,724 |
| 36 | Gilchrist County | 19,040 | $63,523 | $302,519 |
| 37 | St. Lucie County | 360,500 | $71,457 | $363,419 |
| 38 | Miami-Dade County | 2,738,356 | $71,753 | $519,528 |
| 39 | Polk County | 790,694 | $65,978 | $298,010 |
| 40 | Escambia County | 325,923 | $67,500 | $280,285 |
| 41 | Marion County | 400,078 | $61,010 | $273,944 |
| 42 | Levy County | 45,391 | $56,750 | $287,195 |
| 43 | Citrus County | 162,472 | $56,546 | $271,924 |
| 44 | Union County | 15,701 | $64,146 | $267,831 |
| 45 | Jefferson County | 15,091 | $61,212 | $299,851 |
| 46 | Bradford County | 27,885 | $63,050 | $247,422 |
| 47 | Franklin County | 12,553 | $64,105 | $417,941 |
| 48 | Washington County | 25,529 | $58,210 | $218,025 |
| 49 | Jackson County | 48,250 | $49,149 | $178,956 |
| 50 | Holmes County | 19,513 | $49,343 | $194,605 |
| 51 | Suwannee County | 45,342 | $56,658 | $274,467 |
| 52 | Columbia County | 71,789 | $59,205 | $269,345 |
| 53 | Lafayette County | 8,161 | $62,757 | $260,333 |
| 54 | Dixie County | 17,058 | $50,110 | $215,908 |
| 55 | Okeechobee County | 40,816 | $57,984 | $288,705 |
| 56 | Liberty County | 7,687 | $58,671 | $198,046 |
| 57 | Taylor County | 21,503 | $49,073 | $191,155 |
| 58 | Highlands County | 105,702 | $54,897 | $233,149 |
| 59 | Hendry County | 42,382 | $56,393 | $277,539 |
| 60 | Madison County | 18,089 | $48,485 | $210,698 |
| 61 | Gadsden County | 43,710 | $48,801 | $199,101 |
| 62 | Hardee County | 25,675 | $60,489 | $238,804 |
| 63 | Hamilton County | 13,616 | $50,144 | $202,821 |
| 64 | Glades County | 12,563 | $45,870 | $260,557 |
| 65 | Putnam County | 75,164 | $47,934 | $215,206 |
| 66 | Calhoun County | 13,492 | $50,517 | $178,973 |
| 67 | DeSoto County | 35,386 | $54,417 | $182,180 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + FBI crime data via Saturday Night Science. All 67 Florida counties.
Summary
Summary: The Best Counties In Florida To Call Home For 2026
Living in Florida can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?
The best counties in Florida are St. Johns County, Nassau County, Sarasota County, Seminole County, Clay County, Monroe County, Santa Rosa County, Okaloosa County, Collier County, and Wakulla County.
But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome.
