Choosing a neighborhood is the decision that shapes your life in Miami the most: what you pay, how much time you spend in the car, which school your children attend and how much you worry about water when a hurricane comes. We analyzed sixteen neighborhoods and cities with official data from the Census, FEMA, the county and the Florida Department of Education, and here we compare them so you can find the one that fits you. Each has its own full guide, with restaurants, schools, transit and pros and cons.
Not sure where to start? Answer 8 questions in our neighborhood recommender and we will tell you which 3 fit you best.
Prices updated every month: see the typical value of houses and condos, rent and flood insurance in each area in Miami home prices by area.
The sixteen neighborhoods in one table
These are the key figures for each neighborhood, from the Census Bureau (American Community Survey, 2020-2024 average) and our own overlay of boundaries with the FEMA map. Click a neighborhood's name to see its full guide.
| Neighborhood | Median rent | Median home value | Median household income | Speak Spanish at home | Households without a car | Land in a high-risk flood zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key Biscayne | over $3,500 | $1,575,300 | $181,505 | 68.7% | 2.8% | 100% |
| Brickell | $3,124 | $655,100 | $144,138 | 49.7% | 13.2% | 86.2% |
| Weston* | $2,851 | $695,600 | $139,825 | 54.9% | 1.7% | 45.7% |
| Doral | $2,669 | $562,800 | $94,164 | 87.5% | 4.2% | 40.7% |
| Aventura | $2,513 | $451,100 | $89,274 | 47.0% | 7.4% | 95.4% |
| Edgewater | $2,489 | $616,800 | $94,036 | 49.3% | 11.1% | 30.6% |
| Coral Gables | $2,373 | $1,089,900 | $134,216 | 51.6% | 6.3% | 38.7% |
| Miami Lakes | $2,120 | $626,400 | $101,557 | 83.3% | 3.5% | 79.1% |
| Sunny Isles Beach | $2,096 | $549,100 | $61,921 | 40.9% | 9.8% | 83.8% |
| Wynwood | about $2,070 | — | about $74,600 | 57.8% | 21.1% | 6.2% |
| Coconut Grove | $2,068 | $1,022,400 | $103,420 | 50.7% | 8.7% | 17.5% |
| Pinecrest | $1,946 | $1,406,400 | $206,417 | 47.8% | 2.0% | 33.1% |
| Kendall | $1,905 | $567,900 | $87,325 | 62.1% | 6.1% | 22.0% |
| Miami Beach | $1,826 | $556,700 | $72,856 | 51.8% | 22.6% | 95.1% |
| Hialeah | $1,689 | $392,000 | $55,594 | 91.9% | 9.8% | 48.5% |
| Little Havana | $1,422 | $418,500 | $40,567 | 91.4% | 22.7% | 5.9% |
| Miami-Dade | $1,829 | $463,000 | $71,753 | 66.7% | 9.8% | — |
Neighborhoods are sorted from highest to lowest rent. Remember these are five-year medians: current listings are usually higher, especially in new buildings. We do not give a home value for Wynwood because there are too few owners for a reliable figure, and for Key Biscayne the Census only reports that rent exceeds $3,500. *Weston is in Broward County, where the median rent is $1,907 and the median home value $414,600. For current prices in each area, see our home prices by area page, updated every month.
Which neighborhood for what you want
If you want to live car-free, close to the office
Brickell is Miami's financial district: towers, offices, restaurants and the free Metromover. It is among the most expensive to rent and has the shortest commute, 19 minutes on average. Miami Beach is the seaside alternative: more than one in five households live without a car and the trolley is free, though there is no Metrorail.
If you want water views without Brickell prices
Edgewater offers bayfront towers for about $600 a month less than Brickell, with the Design District and its MICHELIN-starred restaurants a few minutes away. Further north, Aventura offers towers along the canals, a large golf course and fast trains to downtown.
If you have children and schools come first
Doral is the clearest case: all 8 of its graded public schools earned an A in 2026, as did almost all of its charter schools. It is a young city with recent homes and buildings, where almost everything happens in Spanish. Kendall offers houses with yards at a more moderate price, with 8 of its 10 public schools rated A. In Aventura, the city runs its own charter schools, an elementary-middle and a high school, both rated A. On a higher budget, Pinecrest has houses with yards and every public school rated A; and if you want to live in Spanish in a green, orderly setting, Miami Lakes, the town of lakes, also has every public school rated A. Over in Broward County, Weston has all 10 of its public schools rated A and houses with yards in lake communities, in exchange for long commutes to Miami.
If you care about greenery, history and architecture
Coral Gables, with its tree-lined streets and Mediterranean architecture, and Coconut Grove, Miami's oldest neighborhood, on the bay. Along with Pinecrest and Key Biscayne, they are the only ones in this comparison with median home values above one million dollars.
If you want small-town island life and have a high budget
Key Biscayne, a very family-oriented island 15 minutes from Brickell, with two large beach parks and an A-rated public school. It is the most expensive in this comparison, and the whole island is in a high-risk flood zone and in hurricane evacuation zone A.
If you want the beach
Miami Beach, from South Beach to North Beach, with a median rent in line with the county. In exchange, 95% of its land is in a high-risk flood zone. Further north, Sunny Isles Beach offers towers on a quieter beach and a very international feel, with an A-rated K-8 school.
If art and atmosphere drive you
Wynwood, the mural district, with new buildings since 2015, galleries, restaurants and nightlife. Expect weekend noise and construction.
If you want the lowest rent and to live in Spanish
Little Havana, with the lowest median rent of the sixteen, ten minutes from Brickell, where 91% of residents speak Spanish at home. Buildings are old and local incomes are low. If you prefer a house with a yard and a train, Hialeah, Miami's great Cuban city, has a median rent of $1,689 and three Metrorail stations.
What rent costs
Median rent ranges from $1,422 in Little Havana to over $3,500 in Key Biscayne, more than double. Thirteen of the sixteen are above the county median; only Miami Beach, practically at the median, Hialeah and Little Havana fall below it.
Beyond rent, factor in everything else: in Miami, housing takes a bigger share of the budget than in most of the country. We cover it in our cost of living in Miami guide, and if you have no credit history, in how to rent in Miami without a credit history.
Flood risk
This is the biggest difference between neighborhoods, and the one that most affects insurance and, if you buy, your home's long-term value:
| Neighborhood | Land in a high-risk zone (FEMA) | Hurricane evacuation zone |
|---|---|---|
| Little Havana | 5.9% | E, the last to evacuate, on 87% of the land |
| Wynwood | 6.2% | Outside the evacuation zones |
| Coconut Grove | 17.5% | A on a third of the land, by the bay |
| Kendall | 22.0% | D across almost the whole area |
| Edgewater | 30.6% | C on two thirds of the land |
| Pinecrest | 33.1% | C on 83% of the land |
| Coral Gables | 38.7% | A on 44% of the land, in the southern half |
| Doral | 40.7% | Three quarters outside the evacuation zones |
| Weston | 45.7% | Outside Broward's storm surge evacuation zones |
| Hialeah | 48.5% | Almost 80% outside the evacuation zones |
| Miami Lakes | 79.1% | Outside the evacuation zones |
| Sunny Isles Beach | 83.8% | B across the whole city |
| Brickell | 86.2% | B across the whole neighborhood |
| Miami Beach | 95.1% | B across almost the whole city |
| Aventura | 95.4% | D on 62% of the land and B by the bay |
| Key Biscayne | 100% | A across the whole island |
Not all risk zones are the same: in Doral, Kendall and Hialeah almost all of it is zone AH, rainfall ponding, while by the bay, in Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach and Key Biscayne there is storm surge risk. In Miami Lakes almost all of it is zone AE, but the town is outside the evacuation zones. And within each neighborhood, risk changes from street to street. Before renting or buying, look up the exact address on the FEMA flood map and ask for the flood disclosure required by Florida law. We explain how to insure yourself in our guide to home and flood insurance in Miami.
Schools
These are the public schools graded by the Florida Department of Education in 2026 within each neighborhood:
- Weston: 10 schools, in Broward County Public Schools, all rated A.
- Miami Lakes: 5 schools, all rated A.
- Pinecrest: 4 schools, from elementary to high school, all rated A.
- Hialeah: 24 schools, 8 rated A, 12 rated B and 4 rated C.
- Doral: 8 schools, all rated A.
- Kendall: 10 schools, 8 rated A and 2 rated B.
- Coral Gables: 7 schools, 5 rated A and 2 rated B.
- Miami Beach: 6 schools, 4 rated A, 1 B and 1 C.
- Coconut Grove: 5 schools, 4 rated A and 1 C.
- Little Havana: 3 schools, 2 rated A and 1 B.
- Wynwood: 3 schools, 1 rated A and 2 B.
- Key Biscayne: 1 school, pre-K to 8th grade, rated A.
- Sunny Isles Beach: 1 school, kindergarten to 8th grade, rated A.
- Aventura: no traditional public schools, but two city charter schools, both rated A.
- Edgewater: 2 schools, both rated A, although one is a high school with its own admissions.
- Brickell: there are no public schools within the ZIP code; the closest are in western Brickell.
Getting around
- Metrorail inside the neighborhood: Coral Gables (University), Coconut Grove (Coconut Grove), Kendall (Dadeland North and Dadeland South) and Hialeah (three stations, with a Tri-Rail connection).
- Brightline: Aventura, with trains to downtown Miami in about 17 minutes.
- Free Metromover: Brickell, with several stations; Edgewater and Wynwood have stations near their southern edges.
- Free trolleys and buses: Miami Beach, Doral, Aventura and the City of Miami routes, which serve Wynwood, Edgewater, Little Havana, Brickell and Coconut Grove.
- Free local transit: the Pinecrest People Mover, the Sunny Isles Beach SIBshuttle and Miami Lakes' on-demand Freebee.
- A car is almost essential: in Doral, Kendall, Pinecrest, Miami Lakes and Weston, fewer than one in sixteen households live without a car.
How to choose, step by step
- Set your total budget, not just rent: add insurance, transport and, if you buy, association fees and property taxes.
- Mark where you will spend your day: the office, your children's school or the airport. In Miami, traffic decides a lot.
- Decide how much flood risk you accept and check it address by address on the FEMA map.
- If you have children, check the zoned school for every address you like.
- Visit the neighborhood at different times, on weekdays and weekends, before you sign.
FAQ
What is the best neighborhood to live in Miami?
It depends on what you want. For families, Doral, Kendall, Miami Lakes, Aventura, Weston and, on a higher budget, Pinecrest; for car-free living, Brickell; for the beach, Miami Beach and Sunny Isles Beach; for greenery and history, Coral Gables and Coconut Grove; for the lowest rent, Little Havana and Hialeah.
What is the cheapest neighborhood in Miami?
Of the sixteen we analyzed, Little Havana has the lowest median rent, $1,422 a month, versus a county median of $1,829. Hialeah follows, at $1,689.
Which Miami neighborhood has the lowest flood risk?
Of the sixteen, Little Havana and Wynwood, with about 6% of land in a high-risk zone according to FEMA. Key Biscayne, Aventura, Miami Beach, Brickell and Sunny Isles Beach have the highest risk. In every case, check the exact address.
Where do Spanish speakers live in Miami?
Throughout the county: two in three residents speak Spanish at home. Among the sixteen neighborhoods, Hialeah (92%), Little Havana (91%), Doral (88%) and Miami Lakes (83%) have the highest shares.
Why are listing rents higher than these figures?
Because the Census gives five-year medians (2020-2024) across all leases, including older ones, while listings reflect today's prices and are often for newer homes.
Method note
We compare sixteen neighborhoods and cities using the official geography that best represents each one: city limits for Coral Gables, Doral, Miami Beach, Hialeah, Aventura, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Lakes and Weston; the Kendall Census Designated Place; ZIP codes 33131 for Brickell, 33133 for Coconut Grove, 33137 for Edgewater and 33135 for Little Havana; and Census tracts 26 and 28 for Wynwood. The figures are therefore not perfectly comparable, and each guide explains what its boundary includes. Population, housing, income, language and commuting figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2020-2024 five-year average). The shares of land in flood and evacuation zones are our own calculations, overlaying each boundary with FEMA's current flood map and Miami-Dade County's storm surge zones; for Weston, which is in Broward, FEMA's map only. School grades are the Florida Department of Education's official 2026 grades.