Best PlacesDowntown Miami, Miami, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Miami, Miami, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Downtown Miami, Miami ranks 1,830th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Miami, Miami
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Downtown Miami, Miami's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Miami, Miami ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Miami, Miami ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Miami, Miami
A household needs to earn about $190,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Miami, Miami home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $123,421, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Downtown Miami, Miami's effective rate of 1.08%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown Miami, Miami
Downtown Miami, Miami runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Downtown Miami, Miami.
Who works in Downtown Miami, Miami, and how
Work in Downtown Miami, Miami centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 49%
- Work from home 31%
- Transit, walk, or bike 20%
Life in Downtown Miami, Miami
Downtown Miami, Miami has more restaurants and bars per resident than 89% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 90% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 2 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown Miami, Miami and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Miami, Miami, month by month
Downtown Miami, Miami sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 79, with lows near 60. The comfortable stretch runs December through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 79° | 69° | 60° |
| April | 86° | 78° | 70° |
| July | 92° | 85° | 78° |
| October | 88° | 81° | 75° |
Flying in and out of Downtown Miami, Miami
Miami International sits about 7 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 26.2 million passengers in 2025, with 233 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Downtown Miami, Miami
Schools across Downtown Miami, Miami average a C, better than 41% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Sunset Elementary SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- Pinecrest Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- North Beach Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Palmetto Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Southwood Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Miami Beach Nautilus Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- New World School Of The ArtsA− · 67% proficient
- Law Enforcement Officers Memorial High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Alonzo & Tracy Mourning Senior High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Miami, Miami school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Miami, Miami measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Downtown Miami, Miami against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Downtown Miami, Miami suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 31% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Downtown Miami, Miami
Is Downtown Miami, Miami a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Miami, Miami ranks 1,830th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and population health, and lowest on empty homes and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Miami, Miami expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $699,220. The overall cost of living runs about 44% above the national average. Set against a $123,421 median income, cost of living beats 68% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Miami, Miami safe?
Downtown Miami, Miami is safer than 42% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $414 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Downtown Miami, Miami?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 79 with lows near 60. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Miami, Miami good for families?
Schools beat 41% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 42%, and childcare runs $844 a month.
Compare Downtown Miami, Miami with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Miami, Miami. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Miami, Miami represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Downtown Miami, Miami detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Miami, Miami: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Miami, Miami: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Miami, Miami: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Miami, Miami: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Miami, Miami detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.