These Are The 10 Best Small Towns In Florida

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You’ve seen these lists before: Best places to live in Florida, Most Beautiful Downtowns, etc., etc. But all of them focus on major cities and towns in the Sunshine State and no one pays attention to the little guy.

Well, that’s all about to change as we put together a list of the best small towns in Florida based on numbers–not opinions or hearsay.

We’ll dive right into our methodology in the next section; but first, we thought you might just want to know which places in Florida ranked the based–you know, based on science. Here are the 10 Best Small Towns in Florida (in which to live):

If you live in one of these small towns like Gulf Stream, chances are, you’re not surprised. After all, you know how great you have it.

But for the rest of you–keep reading and we’ll get to just why these small towns made our list. Or feel free to check out the worst small towns in Florida.

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How We Determined The Best Small Towns In Florida

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using FBI crime data, the Census’s 2010-2014 American Community Survey, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is the criteria we used:

Population Density (Higher is better)
Lowest Unemployment Rates
Housing costs (Higher is better. More demand.)
Adjusted Median Income (Higher is better)
High School Dropouts (Lower is better)
Crime Rates (Lower is better)

10 Small Towns In Florida Where You’d Never Want To Live

We looked at places with populations lower than 1,000 people, of which, there were a lot – 103 to be exact.

We then ranked each place in each category with scores from 1 to 103, averaged them out, and the lowest scores went to our Best Small Towns in Florida. Top of that list — Gulf Stream.

Keep reading to find out more about our top 10 best small towns in Florida. Or feel free to check out the best places overall to live in Florida.

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1. Gulf Stream

Population 2014: 876
Median Income: $209,583
Median Home Price: $1,555,500
Crime Per 100k: 1,583

2. Sea Ranch Lakes

Population 2014: 862
Median Income: $115,000
Median Home Price: $753,800
Crime Per 100k: 1,545

3. Golf

Population 2014: 291
Median Income: $239,063
Median Home Price: $1,298,000
Crime Per 100k: 1,511

4. Golden Beach

Population 2014: 805
Median Income: $150,893
Median Home Price: $2,587,000
Crime Per 100k: 1,148

5. Shalimar

Population 2014: 635
Median Income: $83,750
Median Home Price: $305,700
Crime Per 100k: 1,511

6. Manalapan

Population 2014: 317
Median Income: $210,417
Median Home Price: $987,000
Crime Per 100k: 4,138

7. Jupiter Island

Population 2014: 523
Median Income: $349,000
Median Home Price: $4,258,000
Crime Per 100k: 3,380

8. Melbourne Village

Source: Google Maps

Population: 672
Median Income: $66,607
Median Home Price: $215,500
Crime Per 100k: 1,644

9. Crescent Beach

Population 2014: 909
Median Income: $57,625
Median Home Price: $506,000
Crime Per 100k: 1,511

10. Captiva

Population 2014: 225
Median Income: $170,469
Median Home Price: $256,300
Crime Per 100k: 1,511

Science Can Tackle Any Issue, Even Small Ones

We said it once and we’ll say it again — this list: it’s just science. We did the research, we crunched the numbers, and it turns out, these 10 small towns in Florida are the best, in which to live.

And who can argue with that?

If you’re curious, here are the worst small towns in Florida:

Lemon Grove
Jacob City
Pine Lakes

For more Florida reading , check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Small Towns In Florida

City	Rank	Population	Median Income	Median Home Price	Crime Per 100k
Gulf Stream	1	876	$209,583	$1,555,500	1,583
Sea Ranch Lakes	2	862	$115,000	$753,800	1,545
Golf	3	291	$239,063	$1,298,000	1,511
Golden Beach	4	805	$150,893	$2,587,000	1,148
Shalimar	5	635	$83,750	$305,700	1,511
Manalapan	6	317	$210,417	$987,000	4,138
Jupiter Island	7	523	$349,000	$4,258,000	3,380
Melbourne Village	8	672	$66,607	$215,500	1,644
Crescent Beach	9	909	$57,625	$506,000	1,511
Captiva	10	225	$170,469	$256,300	1,511
Glen Ridge	11	191	$63,250	$302,900	2,199
Briny Breezes	12	702	$39,306	$174,800	2,314
Black Diamond	13	728	$84,375	$422,000	3,257
Cinco Bayou	14	336	$52,344	$268,400	1,743
Hillsboro Pines	15	254	$69,545	$250,000	2,738
Mulat	16	173	$98,553	$310,500	1,512
Duck Key	17	534	$50,887	$816,800	1,511
Mcintosh	18	330	$51,679	$161,900	3,412
Hillcrest Heights	19	247	$71,250	$169,400	3,217
Everglades	20	278	$41,389	$235,500	3,503
Juno Ridge	21	714	$35,313	$157,100	3,698
Highland Park	22	291	$39,688	$201,400	3,131
Black Hammock	23	1,011	$42,875	$291,200	792
Spring Ridge	24	194	$82,500	$113,300	3,623
Allentown	25	1,016	$69,405	$174,200	1,299
Goodland	26	261	$24,167	$288,200	3,328
Chokoloskee	27	523	$38,922	$216,400	4,159
Sorrento	28	936	$64,464	$167,000	3,923
Brooker	29	310	$51,250	$115,500	4,874
Cedar Key	30	528	$33,750	$223,100	2,853
Mount Carmel	31	236	$46,071	$152,000	4,228
Micanopy	32	926	$42,104	$118,900	4,505
Pittman	33	288	$99,630	$173,900	2,565
Harold	34	1,086	$57,050	$95,100	1,726
Chumuckla	35	848	$66,801	$197,100	3,624
Wacissa	36	160	$53,393	$86,500	4,084
Floridatown	37	413	$62,614	$139,800	4,064
Avalon	38	566	$80,625	$196,800	3,299
Webster	39	990	$23,929	$90,400	1,650
Fort White	40	763	$28,558	$179,000	4,230
Fort Green Springs	41	521	$68,958	$107,700	5,067
Hastings	42	687	$22,500	$119,500	5,048
Altha	43	417	$33,333	$86,300	1,115
Lake Mystic	44	492	$70,192	$100,700	4,384
Sopchoppy	45	320	$32,083	$134,700	4,693
Istachatta	46	114	$77,500	$285,000	3,325
Homeland	47	405	$34,148	$142,400	5,146
Nobleton	48	222	$52,417	$81,100	4,582
Gun Club Estates	49	871	$39,038	$69,800	5,843
Roeville	50	540	$58,155	$125,000	4,657
White Springs	51	1,046	$31,372	$92,200	5,052
Franklin Park	52	1,125	$22,056	$87,200	2,099
Spring Lake	53	315	$31,750	$151,400	4,091
Wiscon	54	797	$26,912	$59,000	5,521
Westville	55	357	$46,250	$75,000	5,605
Raiford	56	149	$31,250	$156,300	4,913
Cypress Quarters	57	1,263	$27,143	$87,400	1,937
Ponce De Leon	58	380	$30,104	$76,600	5,117
Bristol	59	925	$34,844	$86,300	5,486
Bell	60	595	$38,100	$75,800	5,456
Laurel Hill	61	645	$39,531	$97,100	5,343
Five Points	62	876	$28,185	$104,400	4,895
Acacia Villas	63	299	$34,449	$34,600	6,042
Paradise Heights	64	797	$31,287	$92,500	5,614
Grand Ridge	65	945	$38,382	$78,000	5,317
Lee	66	568	$46,635	$75,500	5,387
Hosford	67	382	$26,000	$164,300	4,302
Crystal Springs	68	706	$40,179	$82,800	5,055
Wausau	69	319	$31,944	$61,300	5,611
Jennings	70	1,006	$30,865	$25,800	1,845
Paisley	71	884	$36,058	$91,000	5,581
Campbellton	72	168	$24,821	$92,500	5,257
Bascom	73	152	$30,625	$72,800	5,286
Worthington Springs	74	712	$44,129	$87,000	5,842
Greenwood	75	712	$35,357	$83,300	5,547
La Crosse	76	140	$31,964	$96,700	5,179
Seville	77	167	$31,653	$75,000	5,261
Paxton	78	788	$37,857	$88,800	5,525
Deland Southwest	79	959	$31,250	$96,700	5,532
Reddick	80	406	$27,396	$87,500	5,381
Greensboro	81	911	$30,081	$114,700	5,265
Coleman	82	718	$24,625	$74,400	5,696
Hampton	83	647	$30,833	$77,400	5,677
Alford	84	508	$26,058	$77,400	5,817
Lake Mack-Forest Hills	85	1,097	$22,370	$81,500	1,950
Berrydale	86	406	$31,250	$49,400	5,825
Canal Point	87	399	$25,536	$86,700	5,760
Ebro	88	284	$39,063	$39,200	5,906
Caryville	89	430	$43,125	$53,200	6,042
East Williston	90	664	$34,861	$83,200	5,606
Jay	91	472	$30,227	$76,300	5,396
Pomona Park	92	830	$30,341	$66,400	5,792
Esto	93	445	$30,625	$46,700	6,042
Cottondale	94	885	$19,926	$77,700	5,910
Charleston Park	95	240	$28,622	$73,800	6,042
Noma	96	359	$21,827	$33,500	6,042
Bradley Junction	97	379	$31,118	$75,800	5,346
Medley	98	879	$22,292	$41,000	29,656
Greenville	99	759	$22,250	$49,300	5,924
Otter Creek	100	217	$21,875	$39,600	6,042