The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Florida For 2023


We used science and data to determine which cities in Florida that will put a big dent in your wallet.

Editor’s Note: We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the most expensive places to live in Florida.

With its near perfect weather, top-notch beaches, and world-renowned theme parks, living in the Sunshine State is worth every penny. But which places in Florida are the most expensive to live in?

It turns out that the priciest places in Florida are in one of two places: the Florida Keys and around Miami. If you're willing to break the bank for a year-round tropical vibe, head to Key West or Marathon. For those who are more interested in a vibrant community with out-of-this-world Cuban cuisine, stick to the Magic City and it's surrounding cities. In either case, you're paying a premium to live near some of the country's best beaches. Hey, Florida is already one of America's most expensive states, so why not pay a little extra to really live the high life?

How much money should you earn to live comfortably in one of the most expensive cities in Florida? The data shows that you need to earn at least $43,181/year to live in these highly desirable locations. Florida is home to about 10% of the Forbes 400 wealthiest list, so it should come as no surprise that you need a hefty salary to compete. To live in these cities, you'll have to pay a higher proportion of your salary on housing, and considering Florida has one of the highest average rents in America, you may want to earn even more to cover that expense.

If you're ready to brave hurricanes and alligators, and pay a high price for the privilege, read on to find out the most expensive places to live in Florida.

Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Florida for 2023:

  1. Key West
  2. Surfside
  3. Sunny Isles Beach
  4. Miami
  5. Miami Beach
  6. West Miami
  7. Doral
  8. Marathon
  9. Hialeah
  10. South Miami

What's the most expensive place to live in Florida? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Key West is the most expensive place to live in Florida.

So hopefully DeFuniak Springs (the cheapest place to live in Florida) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.

And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Florida and the most expensive cities in the country:

The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Florida For 2023

1. Key West

Key West, FL

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 26,776
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 9.6x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 39.0x (42nd most expensive)
More on Key West: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Key West comes in at $75,638 and the median home value is $728,500 for 2023.

2. Surfside

Surfside, FL

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 5,665
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 9.3x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 39.9x (48th most expensive)
More on Surfside: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Surfside comes in at $67,544 and the median home value is $628,800 for 2023.

3. Sunny Isles Beach

Sunny Isles Beach, FL

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 22,234
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.0x (14th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 29.5x (2nd most expensive)
More on Sunny Isles Beach: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Sunny Isles Beach comes in at $51,760 and the median home value is $363,400 for 2023.

4. Miami

Miami, FL

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 440,807
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.7x (7th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 35.2x (18th most expensive)
More on Miami: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Miami comes in at $47,860 and the median home value is $369,100 for 2023.

5. Miami Beach

Miami Beach, FL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 83,469
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.6x (9th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 38.6x (37th most expensive)
More on Miami Beach: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Miami Beach comes in at $59,162 and the median home value is $450,700 for 2023.

6. West Miami

West Miami, FL

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 7,090
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 4)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.1x (2most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 30.3x (5th most expensive)
More on West Miami: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in West Miami comes in at $59,436 and the median home value is $363,700 for 2023.

7. Doral

Doral, FL

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 73,126
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.4x (32nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 35.4x (23rd most expensive)
More on Doral: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Doral comes in at $77,774 and the median home value is $420,300 for 2023.

8. Marathon

Marathon, FL

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 9,622
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 4)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 9.3x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 46.0x (90th most expensive)
More on Marathon: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Marathon comes in at $63,375 and the median home value is $586,500 for 2023.

9. Hialeah

Hialeah, FL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 224,362
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.5x (18th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 32.9x (10th most expensive)
More on Hialeah: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in Hialeah comes in at $43,181 and the median home value is $280,000 for 2023.

10. South Miami

South Miami, FL

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 11,997
Rank Last Year: 11 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 8.6x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 46.4x (94th most expensive)
More on South Miami: Real Estate | Data | Photos

The median income in South Miami comes in at $67,110 and the median home value is $577,500 for 2023.

Methodology: How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Sunshine State For 2023

Map Of The Cheapest Places To Live In Florida
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:

  1. How much do money do I make?
  2. How much do I have spend to live there?

You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.

For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.

With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2017-2021 around incomes and costs. They are:

  • Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
  • Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
  • Median Home Price

We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).

You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Florida to figure out which is the most expensive.

What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.

So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 217 places in Florida that have more than 5,000 people.

The place with the highest cost of living in Florida according to the data is Key West. You can download the data here.

Summary: Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Florida For 2023

Well there you have it, the places in Florida that have the highest cost of living, with Key West ranking as the most expensive city in the Sunshine State.

Here's a look at the most affordable cities in Florida according to the data:

  1. DeFuniak Springs
  2. Live Oak
  3. Perry

For more Florida reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Florida

Rank City ExpensiveScore Population Home/Income Ratio Income/Rent Ratio
1 Key West 17.0 26,776 9.6x 39.0x
2 Surfside 20.67 5,665 9.3x 39.9x
3 Sunny Isles Beach 22.0 22,234 7.0x 29.5x
4 Miami 23.33 440,807 7.7x 35.2x
5 Miami Beach 23.67 83,469 7.6x 38.6x
6 West Miami 25.0 7,090 6.1x 30.3x
7 Doral 30.67 73,126 5.4x 35.4x
8 Marathon 36.0 9,622 9.3x 46.0x
9 Hialeah 36.67 224,362 6.5x 32.9x
10 South Miami 38.33 11,997 8.6x 46.4x
11 Fort Myers Beach 40.67 5,687 6.1x 44.4x
12 Aventura 42.67 39,734 5.0x 35.4x
13 North Bay Village 42.67 8,057 5.2x 35.7x
14 Boca Raton 46.67 95,347 5.5x 46.3x
15 North Miami 47.67 60,449 5.7x 34.4x
16 Longboat Key 49.0 7,446 6.2x 48.5x
17 Bay Harbor Islands 50.0 5,880 4.8x 41.2x
18 Hallandale Beach 54.33 41,004 5.5x 30.9x
19 Lauderdale-By-The-Sea 54.67 6,231 6.7x 49.0x
20 Opa-Locka 55.0 16,310 7.1x 28.4x
21 Lighthouse Point 57.0 10,529 6.7x 50.6x
22 Hollywood 57.67 152,597 5.2x 42.3x
23 Fort Lauderdale 58.67 182,247 5.4x 46.8x
24 Miami Gardens 59.67 111,706 4.9x 36.1x
25 West Palm Beach 60.0 115,877 4.9x 39.1x
26 Marco Island 60.0 15,929 7.4x 52.5x
27 Miami Lakes 60.0 30,582 5.2x 48.5x
28 Tequesta 60.67 6,097 5.0x 48.0x
29 West Park 61.67 15,074 4.8x 35.8x
30 Homestead 62.33 78,885 4.8x 38.0x
31 Wilton Manors 63.0 11,525 5.2x 48.5x
32 Kissimmee 64.0 77,189 5.2x 33.3x
33 Delray Beach 64.67 66,434 4.6x 41.7x
34 Hialeah Gardens 65.33 22,917 4.5x 34.9x
35 Dania Beach 65.67 31,703 4.9x 31.0x
36 South Pasadena 66.33 5,319 5.2x 37.4x
37 Oakland Park 67.0 44,092 4.8x 40.5x
38 Coral Gables 68.67 49,269 7.6x 61.0x
39 Orlando 68.67 302,968 4.8x 43.8x
40 Key Biscayne 70.0 14,530 7.4x 62.3x
41 Plantation 71.0 92,212 4.4x 44.0x
42 Flagler Beach 71.67 5,064 6.7x 52.0x
43 Fort Myers 72.0 84,694 5.1x 44.5x
44 Cutler Bay 73.0 44,865 4.5x 44.5x
45 Southwest Ranches 73.33 7,613 5.0x 53.4x
46 Palm Beach 74.67 9,175 9.0x 95.5x
47 Naples 75.33 19,187 8.3x 90.7x
48 Sarasota 76.33 53,786 5.1x 48.5x
49 Coral Springs 76.67 133,693 4.8x 49.8x
50 Pembroke Pines 78.0 170,346 4.4x 45.8x
51 Riviera Beach 78.0 37,301 4.6x 40.1x
52 Davie 78.33 104,782 4.5x 46.9x
53 Lantana 78.67 11,516 4.5x 43.2x
54 Wildwood 79.67 14,747 5.1x 48.9x
55 Davenport 80.0 9,049 4.2x 33.4x
56 Sanibel 80.33 6,437 7.1x 130.2x
57 Sunrise 80.33 96,220 4.0x 35.3x
58 Wellington 80.67 61,445 4.4x 48.9x
59 Winter Park 81.33 29,672 5.5x 62.1x
60 Sweetwater 82.33 19,426 4.4x 31.7x
61 St. Pete Beach 82.67 8,963 5.6x 65.4x
62 Maitland 83.0 19,154 5.0x 54.7x
63 Pinecrest 83.0 18,405 5.6x 96.5x
64 Miramar 83.33 134,306 4.4x 47.4x
65 Margate 83.67 58,331 4.4x 37.3x
66 Boynton Beach 84.0 79,479 4.0x 36.9x
67 Florida City 84.17 12,844 4.5x 35.6x
68 Miami Springs 85.0 13,880 5.9x 64.1x
69 Tampa 85.33 380,476 4.6x 48.0x
70 Pompano Beach 85.33 111,423 4.4x 40.4x
71 Jupiter 86.33 60,629 4.5x 51.3x
72 North Miami Beach 87.0 43,357 4.4x 39.8x
73 North Palm Beach 87.33 13,096 4.5x 50.9x
74 Punta Gorda 88.0 19,230 5.5x 59.8x
75 North Lauderdale 89.0 44,579 4.0x 29.9x
76 Clermont 89.67 41,562 4.0x 42.6x
77 St. Augustine Beach 90.67 6,688 5.0x 63.4x
78 Lauderhill 90.67 73,935 4.3x 33.5x
79 Deerfield Beach 91.0 86,062 4.1x 35.2x
80 Clearwater 91.0 116,616 4.5x 44.3x
81 Weston 91.33 68,148 4.3x 52.3x
82 Cocoa Beach 91.67 11,316 4.7x 52.7x
83 Destin 92.67 13,751 4.4x 50.0x
84 Treasure Island 92.67 6,620 5.2x 65.5x
85 Miami Shores 93.0 11,551 4.6x 62.3x
86 Atlantic Beach 93.67 13,404 4.7x 60.3x
87 Vero Beach 93.67 16,254 5.3x 54.7x
88 Dunedin 95.67 36,110 4.5x 47.3x
89 Gulfport 95.67 11,830 4.4x 47.0x
90 Mount Dora 95.67 15,830 4.4x 48.2x
91 Tallahassee 95.67 195,057 4.6x 45.8x
92 Palmetto Bay 96.0 24,327 4.7x 87.8x
93 Gainesville 97.0 138,741 4.5x 39.2x
94 Panama City Beach 97.33 17,882 4.1x 48.0x
95 Bonita Springs 98.33 53,017 4.5x 54.7x
96 Neptune Beach 99.0 6,880 4.7x 72.4x
97 Bradenton 99.33 54,918 4.2x 40.8x
98 Cape Coral 101.0 193,003 3.9x 44.8x
99 Palm Coast 102.33 88,313 3.9x 42.3x
100 Palm Beach Gardens 102.33 58,482 4.2x 53.2x

How Is The Area In ?

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.