Key West, Florida

Area Profile

25,720 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Key West, in Monroe County.

44out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 7% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 30% of 4,199 cities measured66
SchoolsTop 29% of 4,162 cities measured66
Growth3,585th of 4,224 cities measured30
Housing affordability4,141st of 4,218 cities measured26
ClimateTop 29% of 4,225 cities measured75
Physical resilience4,114th of 4,226 cities measured7
Access4,194th of 4,226 cities measured9
Economic stability2,752nd of 4,226 cities measured49
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.1% and median household income $87,037, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 63% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.5 students for every teacher.

26 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 8% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
25,720
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$87,037
Top 27% nationally
Density
4,594/sq mi
5.6 sq mi of land
Median age
46.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Florida
Nearest major airport
TNT
105 mi · Dade-Collier Training and Transition
Median home value
$852,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.1%, lower than in 91% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.8% over the past year, to 15,749 employed residents.

41% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 82% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMonroe County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$171,96099th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMonroe County, FL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$104,57586th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$11,3822024 ACS 5-Year$87,037Top 27%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5,1112024 ACS 5-Year$60,074Top 10%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.6%Top 49%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year16.2 minTop 7%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year41.3%Top 18%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year58.3%11th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202615,749Bottom 15%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.9%Bottom 41%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.8%Bottom 29%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202616,25315th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year81.1%Top 39%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%78th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.5%Bottom 19%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.1%Top 9%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year12.1%68th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.51.5
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.1% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202487k76k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $87,037 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

63% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 61% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.5 students for every full-time teacher across 6 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.5
across 6 of them
Math proficiency
62.8%
Top 31% in Florida
Reading proficiency
60.5%
Top 30% in Florida
The 12 largest public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Key West High SchoolMONROE1,33717.469%59%
Horace O'bryant SchoolMONROE1,01114.757%54%
Gerald Adams Elementary SchoolMONROE67416.057%63%
Poinciana Elementary SchoolMONROE55613.666%63%
Sigsbee Charter School · charterMONROE531106.272%71%
May Sands Montessori School · charterMONROE9090.057%72%
Somerset Island Prep · charterMONROE88—10%50%
The College of the Florida Keys Academy · charterMONROE6262.0——
Lower Keys Academic Connections for ExcellenceMONROE126.0——
Keys CenterMONROE99.0——
Monroe County Detention CenterMONROE0———
Monroe Juvenile Detention CenterMONROE0———

49.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Florida’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Florida is up 54% over five years, and up 4.6% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,442 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.52% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,504, some 13% above the $2,220 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,504 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $100,200 a year, about 115% of the median household income here of $87,037.

The typical renter household here spends 36% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,220 a month.

A median home at $852,400 costs 7.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $119,397, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
36.4%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
7.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,504
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,220
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$852,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Key West’s median household income of $87,037, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Florida’s figure2026 Q2+4.6%74th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Florida’s figure2026 Q2+53.8%88th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Florida’s figure2026 Q2+121.9%90th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±12024 ACS 5-Year7.1Bottom 2%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year49.2%9th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4102024 ACS 5-Year14,57496th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,211Bottom 13%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,303Bottom 15%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,504Bottom 15%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$2102024 ACS 5-Year$2,220Bottom 5%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$48,7702024 ACS 5-Year$852,40097th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$4002024 ACS 5-Year$4,44286th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$19,0682024 ACS 5-Year$119,397Top 16%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.52%13th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year36.4%Bottom 17%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3612024 ACS 5-Year2,16199th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year14.8%91st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year11.2%68th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3412024 ACS 5-Year3,79999th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

30/ 100
Ranks 3,585 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 4% since 2020, to 25,240 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 29 units authorized in 2025, up 7% on the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Monroe County, which contains Key West, lost about 1.1% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $171,960, above the $104,575 of households that moved out.

At 1.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
26
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.0
Bottom 26% nationally
Year over year
+8%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
30.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202426k25k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
60%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$171,960
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$104,575
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Miami-Dade County, FL 699 people · 13% of arrivals
  2. Broward County, FL 267 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  3. Palm Beach County, FL 152 people · 2.9% of arrivals
  4. Lee County, FL 100 people · 1.9% of arrivals
  5. Orange County, FL 76 people · 1.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Miami-Dade County, FL 537 people · 9.0% of departures
  2. Broward County, FL 217 people · 3.6% of departures
  3. Palm Beach County, FL 200 people · 3.3% of departures
  4. Lee County, FL 168 people · 2.8% of departures
  5. Orange County, FL 129 people · 2.2% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Monroe County, FL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202516521
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+38%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 66°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.4 inches.

50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station KEY WEST INTL AP, 1.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND7.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals40.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals66°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals15°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

7 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, coastal flooding and inland flooding, with hurricane alone responsible for 70% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Coastal floodingHigh
HurricaneHigh
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, heat wave, wildfire, inland flooding, strong wind, tornado, landslide, hail, earthquake, winter weather, drought, tsunami, volcanic activity, ice storm, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
264
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,522
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Key West's police department reported 264 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,522.

Monroe County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.3 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 10.0 per 100,000 residents in Monroe County.

Homicide
3.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.9
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
10.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
16.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Key West’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Key West (Monroe County) rather than Key West itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

No airport meeting the AreaProfile major-airport definition lies within 100 miles; the nearest is 105 miles away.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year90.3%Top 48%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle105 miBottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle0Bottom 1%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.4%Top 50%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Dade-Collier Training and TransitionTNT105 mi10,499 ft
Miami IntlMIA126 mi13,016 ft
Miami-Opa Locka ExecOPF132 mi8,002 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
44
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—

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Other cities in Key West-Key Largo, FL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Key LargoMonroe County13,02649Key Largo vs Key West

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Key West side by side with a similar place.

Key West vs KiheiKey West vs Kahului

Moving to Key West from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Key West

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Key West with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Key West closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3304035,429$86,586$819,400—