Best PlacesMonroe County, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Monroe County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Monroe County ranks 1,144th of 3,144 U.S. counties 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 Monroe County
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.
The best areas in Monroe County
The parts of Monroe County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Key West
Fewer homes sit empty, biking is better, and streets are more walkable.
Marathon, Big Pine Key & Summerland Key
It is quieter and more residents vote.
Key Largo & Tavernier
Big-city amenities are closer, though fewer households have young kids.
Islamorada
Crime runs higher and commutes are longer.
Scores across Monroe County run from about the 13th to the 77th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Monroe County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Monroe County ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of counties
- BikingBetter than 98% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of counties
Where Monroe County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Monroe County
A household needs to earn about $204,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Monroe County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $94,909, 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 Monroe County's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 Monroe County
Monroe County runs older 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 Monroe County.
Who works in Monroe County, and how
Work in Monroe County centers on hospitality & food and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in Monroe County
Monroe County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 99% of counties. The coast is about 2 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Monroe County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Monroe County growing, and who is moving in?
Monroe County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Miami, FL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Monroe County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Monroe County, month by month
Monroe County sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 77, with lows near 65. The comfortable stretch runs December through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 77° | 70° | 65° |
| April | 84° | 78° | 73° |
| July | 91° | 86° | 81° |
| October | 87° | 82° | 77° |
Flying in and out of Monroe County
The nearest airport, Key West International, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Miami International, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around Monroe County
Schools across Monroe County average a B, better than 76% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Tommie Barfield Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Kendall Square K-8 CenterA+ · 75% proficient
- Sigsbee Charter SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Dade Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Miami Community Charter Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Medical Academy For Science And Technology (m.a.s.t.) @ HomeA+ · 82% proficient
- Key West High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- John A. Ferguson Senior HighB+ · 56% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Monroe County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Monroe County 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 Monroe County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Monroe County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Monroe County
Is Monroe County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Monroe County ranks 1,144th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on state infrastructure, walkability, and biking, and lowest on an overheated housing market and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Monroe County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $812,603. The overall cost of living runs about 20% above the national average. Set against a $94,909 median income, cost of living beats 58% of counties.
Is Monroe County safe?
Monroe County is safer than 50% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $234 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Monroe County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 77 with lows near 65. That works out to about 85 pleasant days a year, more than 45% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Monroe County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Key West, Marathon, Big Pine Key & Summerland Key, and Key Largo & Tavernier. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Monroe County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Monroe County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Monroe County 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.
Monroe County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Monroe County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Monroe County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Monroe County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Monroe County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Monroe County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.