Best PlacesSouth Miami Heights, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Miami Heights, 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.
South Miami Heights ranks 2,050th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South Miami Heights
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.
South Miami Heights' strengths and weaknesses
Where South Miami Heights ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of cities
- TransitBetter than 87% of cities
- BikingBetter than 87% of cities
Where South Miami Heights ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 1% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in South Miami Heights
A household needs to earn about $108,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Miami Heights home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $69,538, 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 South Miami Heights' effective rate of 0.67%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Miami Heights
South Miami Heights runs older 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 South Miami Heights.
Who works in South Miami Heights, and how
Work in South Miami Heights centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in South Miami Heights
South Miami Heights has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of cities. The coast is about 10 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of South Miami Heights and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Miami Heights, month by month
South Miami Heights sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 79, with lows near 57. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 79° | 67° | 57° |
| April | 87° | 77° | 66° |
| July | 93° | 84° | 76° |
| October | 88° | 79° | 72° |
Flying in and out of South Miami Heights
Miami International sits about 16 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 South Miami Heights
Schools across South Miami Heights average a B, better than 53% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Academir Charter School PreparatoryA− · 60% proficient
- Somerset AcademyA− · 56% proficient
- South Miami Heights ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Somerset Academy Charter Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Cutler Bay MiddleC+ · 35% proficient
- Richmond Heights Middle SchoolC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Miami Southridge Senior HighC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Miami Heights school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Miami Heights 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 South Miami Heights against the other 2,097 cities.
Who South Miami Heights suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in South Miami Heights
Is South Miami Heights a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Miami Heights ranks 2,050th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low taxes, and cell coverage, and lowest on car insurance costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Miami Heights expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $421,359. The overall cost of living runs about 13% above the national average. Set against a $69,538 median income, cost of living beats 3% of cities.
Is South Miami Heights safe?
South Miami Heights is safer than 3% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $403 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in South Miami Heights?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 79 with lows near 57. That works out to about 91 pleasant days a year, more than 54% of cities.
Is South Miami Heights good for families?
Schools beat 53% of cities, crime safety beats 3%, and childcare runs $844 a month.
Compare South Miami Heights with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Miami Heights. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Miami Heights 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.
South Miami Heights detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Miami Heights: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Miami Heights: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Miami Heights: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Miami Heights: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Miami Heights 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.