Best PlacesUniversity Park, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around University Park, 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.
University Park ranks 1,802nd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in University Park
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.
University Park's strengths and weaknesses
Where University Park ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of cities
- BikingBetter than 94% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of cities
Where University Park ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 1% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in University Park
A household needs to earn about $129,000 a year to comfortably buy the median University Park home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $79,677, 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 University Park's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 University Park
University Park runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for University Park.
Who works in University Park, and how
Work in University Park centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in University Park
University Park has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of cities and more parkland per resident than 86% of cities. The coast is about 15 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of University Park and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in University Park, month by month
University Park sees roughly 74 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 University Park
Miami International sits about 6 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 University Park
Schools across University Park average an A−, better than 81% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Coral Park Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Royal Palm Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Rockway Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rockway Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Riviera Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Paul W. Bell Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every University Park school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
University Park 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 University Park against the other 2,097 cities.
Who University Park suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in University Park
Is University Park a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, University Park ranks 1,802nd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on cell coverage, state infrastructure, and low taxes, and lowest on car insurance costs and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is University Park expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $499,433. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $79,677 median income, cost of living beats 8% of cities.
Is University Park safe?
University Park is safer than 10% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $312 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in University Park?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 79 with lows near 60. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 35% of cities.
Is University Park good for families?
Schools beat 81% of cities, crime safety beats 10%, and childcare runs $844 a month.
Compare University Park with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to University Park. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in University Park 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.
University Park detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for University Park: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in University Park: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of University Park: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in University Park: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
University Park 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.