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Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.
There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.
But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.
Of course, not all suburbs of Miami are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...
Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Miami for 2022:
What's the best suburb of Miami? Key Biscayne ranks as the best suburb of Miami for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Key Biscayne, you're probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We'll tell you what makes each of these 10 Miami 'burbs better than the rest--but first, a bit about our methodology.
Note: This result may differ from our state wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a larger selection of suburbs.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Florida:
The 10 Best Miami Suburbs To Live For 2022
Key Biscayne is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Miami area. We'll tell you the good about "Awesome Key Biscayne."
Everyone here is rich; families average $166,667 a year, which is the highest in the Miami region. And only 4.55% are out of work. Homes average more than $1,430,100 each.
/10
Population: 12,867
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $166,667
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 6.1%
More on Key Biscayne: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Pinecrest is the second best 'burb we looked at near Miami for 2022.
It ranks 2nd for incomes in the area and only 4.03% of residents lack insurance, good for 2nd best.
/10
Population: 19,183
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $164,419
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%
Poverty Rate: 8.7%
More on Pinecrest: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Here in Coral Gables, it's really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you'll see in the Miami metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Coral Gables.
/10
Population: 49,937
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $103,999
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 7.8%
More on Coral Gables: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Bay Harbor Islands ranks as the 4th best suburb of Miami for 2022.
You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Bay Harbor Islands and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 5,832
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 9)
Median Income: $99,063
Unemployment Rate: 6.4%
Poverty Rate: 7.8%
More on Bay Harbor Islands: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Coming in as the fifth best is Biscayne Park.
Biscayne Park gets kudos for having the 10th most expensive homes in the Miami area, where houses sell for an average of $510,300. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
/10
Population: 3,089
Rank Last Year: 26 (Up 21)
Median Income: $76,467
Unemployment Rate: 1.5%
Poverty Rate: 4.7%
More on Biscayne Park: Real Estate | Data
Miami Shores is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here's why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 5.55% which is 26th best in the area.
According to online reports, Miami Shores is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Miami area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 10,372
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 4)
Median Income: $125,202
Unemployment Rate: 5.5%
Poverty Rate: 5.3%
More on Miami Shores: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Aventura.
Aventura schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it's only 13.6 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 37,151
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Median Income: $65,893
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 9.8%
More on Aventura: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Southwest Ranches is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 8.27% of people lack insurance, good for 11th in the area.
/10
Population: 7,947
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 7)
Median Income: $133,750
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Poverty Rate: 4.4%
More on Southwest Ranches: Real Estate | Data
Is 'Everything Better In El Portal?'
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it's really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
/10
Population: 2,066
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 5)
Median Income: $108,750
Unemployment Rate: 0.4%
Poverty Rate: 10.7%
More on El Portal: Real Estate | Data | Photos
And rounding out the top ten for 2022 is Palmetto Bay.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It's far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
/10
Population: 24,308
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Median Income: $123,235
Unemployment Rate: 6.5%
Poverty Rate: 5.5%
More on Palmetto Bay: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Miami for 2022
Figuring out the best suburbs around Miami was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:
- Low unemployment rate
- High Median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.
FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Miami.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 48 suburbs to evaluate around Miami.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 48 in each category, where 1 was the "best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Miami." We're lookin' at you, Key Biscayne. You can download the data here.
Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Miami 'Burbs of 2022
We said it once and we'll say it again--life in the big city isn't for everyone. At least not all the time.
So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Miami, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.
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