Florida seems to be the place to be, with millions of people moving here over the past few years. But not everywhere in the state is equally appealing.
This month, Consumer Affairs has released its study on the best and worst places to move to in Florida.
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The study examines the Sunshine State’s 50 largest cities and ranks them based on five main factors:
- Affordability (30%) — Includes median household incomes, median housing costs as a share of media income, and media rent
- Economic Strength (20%) — Includes five-year population growth, poverty rate, and home appreciation
- Education and Health Care (10%) — Includes percentage of residents with health insurance, number of health care professionals per capita, and high school completion rate
- Quality of Life (10%) — Includes walkability and the percentage of residents within a 10-minute walk of “green space”
- Safety (30%) — Includes rates of violent crime and property crime
The No. 1 spot on this list went to Wesley Chapel in Pasco County, which also ranked highest for health and education. In all, Wesley Chapel scored high for all of the factors except quality of life.
“Wesley Chapel ranks No.1 on our list primarily through strong health care, education and safety scores. Having the highest number of health care practitioners per capita, the second-highest rate of insured residents and the third-highest high school graduation rate makes it the best city for health and education. This area also comes in second for safety, with only 0.82 violent crimes per 1,000 people each year. This is 68% lower than the Florida average.
Wesley Chapel’s economy is one of the strongest in Florida. The city has the highest five-year population growth rate in the state (49%) and the highest median household income on our list ($112,045). All of these factors have allowed Wesley Chapel’s economy to thrive, attracting more and more new residents over time.”
Consumer Affairs, "Best places to move to in Florida"
In Central Florida, Palm Bay ranked the highest at No. 7, followed closely by The Villages at No. 8.
The Villages in particular scored the best when it came to safety, though it also scored well in health and education.
On the flip side, though, Miami Beach was rated the lowest among these cities, despite scoring highest for quality of life.
“Miami Beach ranks as the worst place to live in Florida due to poor safety, economy and affordability scores,” the study reads. “It has the second-highest violent crime rate and the fifth-highest rent on our list.”
Meanwhile, the rest of the ranking is as follows:
| Rank | City | Safety Rank | Affordability Rank | Economy Rank | Health/Education Rank | Quality of Life Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wesley Chapel | 2 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 45 |
| 2 | North Port | 7 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 38 |
| 3 | Coral Springs | 6 | 26 | 3 | 14 | 10 |
| 4 | Riverview | 3 | 7 | 16 | 12 | 44 |
| 5 | Tamarac | 13 | 27 | 1 | 27 | 23 |
| 6 | Pembroke Pines | 8 | 32 | 4 | 4 | 30 |
| 7 | Palm Bay | 14 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 40 |
| 8 | The Villages | 1 | 16 | 29 | 9 | 47 |
| 9 | Port Saint Lucie | 5 | 28 | 9 | 22 | 39 |
| 10 | Largo | 29 | 3 | 23 | 28 | 28 |
| 11 | Miramar | 12 | 37 | 8 | 34 | 25 |
| 12 | Cape Coral | 4 | 21 | 24 | 11 | 41 |
| 13 | Brandon | 10 | 5 | 39 | 30 | 36 |
| 14 | Plantation | 26 | 29 | 7 | 5 | 18 |
| 15 | Deltona | 19 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 37 |
| 16 | Palm Coast | 9 | 15 | 34 | 6 | 43 |
| 17 | Sunrise | 11 | 34 | 6 | 33 | 21 |
| 18 | Spring Hill | 16 | 6 | 28 | 23 | 42 |
| 19 | Boca Raton | 18 | 38 | 14 | 19 | 22 |
| 20 | Clearwater | 28 | 14 | 36 | 31 | 9 |
| 21 | Lakeland | 24 | 12 | 33 | 2 | 29 |
| 22 | Davie | 21 | 31 | 19 | 10 | 26 |
| 23 | Saint Petersburg | 42 | 19 | 27 | 21 | 6 |
| 24 | Tampa | 32 | 22 | 38 | 7 | 7 |
| 25 | Doral | 17 | 44 | 2 | 15 | 19 |
| 26 | Hollywood | 22 | 35 | 31 | 25 | 5 |
| 27 | Tallahassee | 36 | 2 | 46 | 16 | 27 |
| 28 | Ocala | 34 | 11 | 43 | 37 | 32 |
| 29 | Fort Myers | 25 | 23 | 35 | 20 | 31 |
| 30 | Hialeah | 15 | 41 | 21 | 47 | 3 |
| 31 | West Palm Beach | 37 | 24 | 13 | 38 | 20 |
| 32 | Gainesville | 38 | 18 | 47 | 3 | 15 |
| 33 | Deerfield Beach | 20 | 43 | 18 | 40 | 16 |
| 34 | Melbourne | 41 | 17 | 41 | 17 | 34 |
| 35 | Fort Lauderdale | 40 | 36 | 30 | 32 | 4 |
| 36 | Boynton Beach | 30 | 39 | 37 | 46 | 11 |
| 37 | Kissimmee | 27 | 30 | 40 | 35 | 33 |
| 38 | Lehigh Acres | 23 | 25 | 17 | 39 | 46 |
| 39 | Daytona Beach | 44 | 4 | 44 | 36 | 14 |
| 40 | Orlando | 45 | 20 | 26 | 18 | 12 |
| 41 | Miami | 31 | 47 | 25 | 41 | 2 |
| 42 | Miami Gardens | 33 | 46 | 5 | 45 | 17 |
| 43 | Pompano Beach | 35 | 40 | 22 | 43 | 13 |
| 44 | Lauderhill | 39 | 42 | 32 | 42 | 8 |
| 45 | Homestead | 43 | 33 | 10 | 44 | 24 |
| 46 | Jacksonville | 46 | 1 | 42 | 24 | 35 |
| 47 | Miami Beach | 47 | 45 | 45 | 26 | 1 |
*According to Consumer Affairs, Pine Hills, Poinciana and Town ‘n’ Country were omitted from the ranking due to missing crime data.
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