This list ranks the 10 best places to live in Florida. Which city is No. 1?
If you aren’t from Florida, you probably think of Miami, Orlando or Tampa when you think of cities in the Sunshine State.
But a recent study from U.S. News and World Report revealed none of these three cities are the best to live in Florida. One of these cities didn’t even make the top 10.
Here’s U.S. News and World Report’s list of the top 14 best cities to live in Florida and where Miami, Orlando and Tampa rank on the list.
What is the best city to live in Florida?
According to U.S. News and World Report, the best city to live in Florida is Naples.
"Naples, Florida, takes the top spot due to its strong desirability and job market scores, and moderately high quality-of-life score," U.S. News said in its report.
According to the report, Naples’ biggest drawback is crowds of people – mainly snowbirds – moving there and driving up the housing prices.
“Proximity to the beach, loads of sunshine and no state income tax come with drawbacks. Continued growth and development are exacerbating a lack of affordable homes in Naples,” the report said.
“And traffic, although nowhere near the levels seen in larger Florida metro areas, tends to choke roadways in the urban area during the winter months.”
What's the average cost of housing in Naples, Florida?
The cost of living in Naples depends on where you live in the town. Of course, housing along the coast will cost more than housing prices further inland.
“As is the case in much of the country, residents in Collier County can expect to pay a premium if they want to live closer to the urban coast, especially in wealthy cities like Naples and Marco Island. Closer to the area’s rural interior, meanwhile, the cost of living drops,” the report says.
“With generally high property values, local municipalities in the area largely rely on property taxes as a primary revenue source. Those taxes vary depending on whether residents live in the county’s two cities, Naples and Marco Island, or Collier’s unincorporated area.”
Here are some quick statistics about Naples that appeared in the study:
Metro population: 122,578
Median home price: $577,796 (according to the study, the national average is around $281,900)
Median monthly rent: 1,754
Median age: 53 years old
Median household income: $98,120
Unemployment rate: 3.57%
Which cities in Florida are best to live in?
Florida’s west coast cities swept the top five. Sarasota ranked in second place, Pensacola in third, Tampa in fourth and Fort Myers placed fifth-best.
Orlando ranked toward the bottom of the top 10, as the eighth-best, and Miami didn’t place in the top 10, landing in the top 14 instead.
Here’s the list of the top 14 best cities to live in Florida, according to U.S. News and World Report:
Pensacola
Tampa
Tallahassee
Ocala
Lakeland
Port St. Lucie
Daytona Beach
Miami
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Best Florida cities to live in list ranks these. Here's the top city
