Living in Weston: a city guide with official data

Weston is a planned city in western Broward County, about 31 miles from Miami, built from the 1980s on the edge of the Everglades: lake communities, houses with yards, parks and public schools that all earned an A in 2026. It is also one of the U.S. cities with the largest Venezuelan presence, so much so that people call it "Westonzuela." Here is what living in Weston is like and, with official data, what it costs, how its schools perform and what to know about flooding and taxes.

What is Weston like in numbers?

Weston is an independent city in Broward County, so we use its official Census boundary and compare it with the county. Figures come from the Census Bureau (American Community Survey, 2020-2024 average) unless noted otherwise.

These are five-year medians: current listings are usually higher. We explain each figure in the method note.

What is it like to live in Weston?

This land on the edge of the Everglades came under the control of Arthur Vining Davis, founder of the developer Arvida, in the 1950s. The planned community, first called Indian Trace, began to grow in 1984 with the Country Isles and Windmill Ranch neighborhoods, and residents voted to incorporate as a city in September 1996. The result is a suburb designed in one piece: lake communities with curving streets, landscaped boulevards, shopping areas kept apart from homes and plenty of green space.

It is a city of families: 27% of residents are under 18, households are large and two in three adults have a college degree. The median household income is almost double the county's.

And it is very Latin American. More than half of residents were born outside the U.S. and speak Spanish at home. In 2000, Weston already had the highest share of Venezuelans of any U.S. city, and today they are 16.2% of the population, followed by Colombians (12.6%), Cubans (5.0%), Puerto Ricans (4.5%) and Argentines (3.8%). Unlike Hialeah or Miami Lakes, the community here is mostly South American.

What is there to do in Weston?

Weston has no beach and no nightlife: leisure here is outdoors and family-oriented. The city maintains 15 parks and recreation facilities. Highlights:

• Weston Town Center, the heart of the city, with restaurants, shops, a clock tower, an outdoor amphitheater and a lakeside park more than a mile long.
• Weston Regional Park, the largest in the city, with about 100 acres of sports fields, courts, trails and play areas.
• Peace Mound Park, a waterfront park with a mound left by the Tequesta people, who lived in the area centuries ago.
• The Everglades, which border the whole city to the west and north.

For big shopping trips, the Sawgrass Mills mall is in neighboring Sunrise, and Fort Lauderdale and its beaches are reached via I-595.

How much does it cost to live in Weston?

Three in four homes are single-family houses, many from the 1990s and 2000s, in lake communities, some of them gated. 73% of households own their home, and there are few tall buildings.

• Renting: the median rent is $2,851 a month, well above the county, because almost everything for rent is a large house. There are few apartments. If you have no credit history, read how to rent in Miami without a credit history.
• Buying: the median value is $695,600. Most communities have a homeowners association (HOA), with fees and rules on the facade, yard, pool or renting out: ask for them before making an offer. We explain it in our guide to buying property in Miami.
• Property tax: the city's share is just 3.35 mills, compared with 6.30 in Hialeah or 7.14 in the City of Miami. Adding the county, schools and other authorities, the total is about 16.3 mills, roughly $1,630 a year per $100,000 of taxable value. If it is your primary residence, the homestead exemption takes up to $50,000 off the value. The bill may also include flat fees for services such as garbage or drainage.

Current price: According to Zillow, in September 2026 the typical value of a house in Weston was $802,000 (−0.8% over a year) and of a condo, $306,000 (−4.8%). We compare it with other areas, along with rent and flood insurance, in Miami home prices by area, updated every month. Work out what it would cost you to live here →

How good are the schools in Weston?

Schools are the main reason many families choose Weston. All 10 public schools in the city, part of Broward County Public Schools, earned an A in 2026 in the Florida Department of Education's official grades:

Some Weston high schoolers attend Western High in neighboring Davie, which also earned an A. Private schools in the city include Sagemont Preparatory School and Weston Christian Academy.

How do you get around Weston?

• Car: essential; only 1.7% of households have none. I-75 runs along the east and north of the city, and I-595 starts at its northeast corner, toward Fort Lauderdale. The average commute is 29.6 minutes.
• To Miami: Downtown and Brickell are about 31 miles away. At rush hour the drive can be long: if you will work in Miami, try the route at that time before deciding.
• Airports: Fort Lauderdale (FLL) is usually closer than Miami (MIA).
• Public transit: there is no rail, and county bus coverage in the city is limited.

Is Weston safe?

The FBI has no recent data from this city's police department, so we do not give a figure.

Within each area, risk changes from one street to the next: visit by day and by night before deciding. Compare it with other areas in Miami crime rates by area.

Does Weston flood?

• Flood zone: according to FEMA's current map, 45.7% of the land is in a high-risk zone: 33.0% in zone AH, for shallow ponding, and 12.7% in zone AE. Almost all the rest, 45.6%, is in a moderate-risk zone.
• Hurricane evacuation: Broward's storm surge evacuation zones are on the coast, east of the Intracoastal and US-1, so Weston is far from them. Hurricane winds, however, affect it like the rest of South Florida.

It is low, flat land on the edge of the Everglades, with a network of lakes and canals to drain rainwater. Before you rent or buy, look up the exact address on FEMA's flood map and get an insurance quote. We explain how to get covered in our guide to home and flood insurance in Miami.

What are the pros and cons of Weston?

Who is Weston right for?

A good fit if: you have school-age children and want good public schools, you want a house with a yard in a quiet, orderly setting, you work in Broward or from home, or you are coming from Venezuela or Colombia and want to live near your community.

Maybe not for you if: you will commute every day to Downtown or Brickell, you want to live without a car, you are looking for the beach, nightlife or a small apartment, or you would rather not have an HOA.

Similar areas: for something similar inside Miami-Dade and closer to the airport, read our guide to Doral, which also has a large Venezuelan community; for lakes and A-rated schools in a more Cuban setting, the one on Miami Lakes; and if you want houses on bigger lots, the one on Pinecrest.

Coming from abroad? Read our moving guides from Venezuela, Colombia and Argentina. And to compare every area, our guide to Miami neighborhoods: where to live based on what you want.

Frequently asked questions

Method note

We use the City of Weston's official Census boundary. Population, housing, income, language, origin and commuting figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2020-2024 five-year average), compared with Broward County. The share of land in flood zones is our own calculation, overlaying that boundary with FEMA's current flood map, on land area. The list of schools is the one published by the city, and grades are the Florida Department of Education's official 2026 grades. The approximate property tax is our sum of the 2025 rates adopted by the city, the county, the school district and the other authorities that apply in Weston, according to the Florida Department of Revenue and those authorities. The city's history comes from public sources.