Best PlacesModel City, Miami, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Model City, 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.
Model City, Miami ranks 5,754th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Model City, 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.
Model City, Miami's strengths and weaknesses
Where Model City, Miami ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$844 a month, better than 82% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 76% of neighborhoods
Where Model City, Miami ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Household income$42,144 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Model City, Miami
A household needs to earn about $106,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Model City, Miami home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $42,144, 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 Model City, Miami's effective rate of 0.76%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Model City, Miami
Model City, Miami runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Model City, Miami.
Who works in Model City, Miami, and how
Work in Model City, Miami centers on construction and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 19%
Life in Model City, Miami
The coast is about 8 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Model City, Miami, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Model City, Miami, month by month
Model City, Miami sees roughly 85 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 Model City, Miami
Miami International sits about 5 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 Model City, Miami
Schools across Model City, Miami average a C+, better than 47% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Arcola Lake Elementary SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Edison Park K-8 CenterC · 33% proficient
- Shadowlawn Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Horace Mann Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Madison Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- Jose De Diego Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Miami Northwestern Senior HighC− · 26% proficient
- Secondary Student Success Center-804D− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Model City, Miami school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Model City, 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 Model City, Miami against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Model City, Miami suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Model City, Miami
Is Model City, Miami a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Model City, Miami ranks 5,754th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on an overheated housing market 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 Model City, Miami expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $407,001. The overall cost of living runs about 20% above the national average. Set against a $42,144 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Model City, Miami safe?
Model City, Miami is safer than 2% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $798 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Model City, Miami?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 79 with lows near 60. That works out to about 85 pleasant days a year, more than 43% of neighborhoods.
Is Model City, Miami good for families?
Schools beat 47% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 2%, and childcare runs $844 a month.
Compare Model City, Miami with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Model City, Miami. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Model City, 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.
Model City, Miami detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Model City, Miami: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Model City, Miami: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Model City, Miami: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Model City, Miami: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Model City, 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.