AreaProfile

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

Metro Area Profile

6,249,291 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metropolitan area.

55
Area Score
Bottom 16% of 99 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 42% of 99 published metros61
GrowthTop 48% of 99 published metros52
Housing affordability95th of 99 published metros47
ClimateTop 19% of 99 published metros77
Physical resilience89th of 99 published metros20
AccessTop 50% of 99 published metros94
Economic stability72nd of 99 published metros58
The quick read

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles, with rent taking 29% of median household income.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by hurricane, inland flooding and cold wave.

A major airport is 18 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
6,249,291
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$76,527
Top 23% nationally
Density
1,233/sq mi
5067.2 sq mi of land
Median age
41.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
Nearest major airport
OPF
18 mi · Miami-Opa Locka Exec
Median home value
$443,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.9% is lower than 69% of the 99 measured US metros.

Employment fell 0.8% over the past year, to 3,142,336 employed residents.

37% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 84% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$576$76,527Top 23%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$306$43,766Top 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate13.1%Bottom 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute31.7 minTop 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher36.7%Top 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment3,142,336Top 8%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.2%Bottom 22%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.8%Bottom 46%June 2026
Labor force3,268,807Top 8%June 2026
Labor force participation63.8%Top 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$67,190Top 41%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$48,640Bottom 41%2025 OEWS
Metro employment2,819,940Top 8%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.6%Top 21%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.9%Bottom 31%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/065.72.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.9% in June 2026.
Largest occupations — Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons91,370$34,330
General and Operations Managers74,960$105,640
Customer Service Representatives63,440$39,560
Registered Nurses61,670$91,380
Office Clerks, General61,160$44,730
Waiters and Waitresses57,830$36,070

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,869 takes 29% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.8 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
29.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,869
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$443,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income5.79Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate60.5%Bottom 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4832,680,465Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$7$1,869Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$1,894$443,300Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income29.3%Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate12.9%Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
52/ 100
Top 48% of 99 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

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 grown 5% since 2020, reaching 6,457,988 in 2024.

67% of recently permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

At 3.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
21K
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.3
Bottom 36% nationally
Year over year
+7%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
66.8%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
202020212022202320246458k6109k
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.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 59°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 62.0 inches.

50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station HOLLYWOOD NORTH PERRY AP, 16.4 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND8.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation62.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low59°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing17°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

20 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and cold wave.

HurricaneElevated
Inland floodingModerate
Coastal floodingModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, heat wave, tornado, wildfire, strong wind, drought, hail, landslide, earthquake.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 18 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Miami-Opa Locka ExecOPF18 mi8,002 ft
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood IntlFLL21 mi8,000 ft
Miami IntlMIA24 mi13,016 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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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 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 browse every source.