The richest neighborhoods in Miami, ranked with official data

What is the richest neighborhood in Miami? Fisher Island, a private island you can only reach by ferry, boat or helicopter: its households earn an average of $781,968 a year, seven times the county average. Next come Pinecrest, Key Biscayne, Bal Harbour and, in Broward, Parkland. We ranked every city and Census community in Miami-Dade and Broward with official Census data, and matched it with what a home costs in each one today.

How we measure a neighborhood's wealth

There is no public record of wealth by neighborhood, so we use the best official indicator available: household income from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2020-2024 five-year average). We look at three figures:

• Mean household income: the area's total household income divided by its households. This is what we rank by, because it has no cap and reflects very large fortunes.
• Share of households earning $200,000 or more: it shows whether wealth belongs to a few or is widespread.
• Median household income: that of the household right in the middle. The Census does not publish medians above $250,000, so in the richest areas we only know they exceed it.

We compared 165 cities and Census communities in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. The main ranking only includes those in Miami-Dade and Broward with at least 1,000 residents, because in smaller places the survey's margins of error are very large.

The 12 richest cities and communities in Miami-Dade and Broward

Source: Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024, and Zillow, typical value in September 2026 (houses; condos on Fisher Island). Linked names go to our full guide to that area. In places with many retirees or second homes, such as Bal Harbour, mean income can sit far above the median.

Two quick takeaways. First, wealth is not only on the coast: Parkland, Southwest Ranches and Weston, in western Broward, make the list with big houses, large lots and families with children. Second, mean and median income can tell very different stories. In Bal Harbour, mean income is $257,564 but the median is $80,806: very large fortunes live alongside many retirees and residents with ordinary incomes. A third: Fisher Island has only 410 households, so its figure has a wide margin of error; even so, it also tops the list by share of households above $200,000.

The most exclusive enclaves

Some of South Florida's richest places are so small they do not make the main ranking. Their Census figures should be read with caution, but the pattern is clear:

• Indian Creek: an island in the bay, opposite Surfside, with about 40 waterfront lots, its own police force patrolling by land and water, and a single guarded bridge. It had 84 residents in the 2020 Census, and several billionaires have bought homes there in recent years, which is why the press calls it "Billionaire Bunker." It is too small for reliable Census survey figures.
• Golden Beach: a town of houses only, on the ocean, between Sunny Isles Beach and the Broward line, with 961 residents in the 2020 Census. Mean income is $390,859, and the typical house is worth $7.7 million according to Zillow, the highest in Miami-Dade.
• Sea Ranch Lakes: a small gated oceanfront community in Broward, with 540 residents in the 2020 Census, a mean income of $308,398 and 59% of households above $200,000.

The richest neighborhoods inside cities

Many of the best-known wealthy neighborhoods, such as Coconut Grove, Brickell or the Miami Beach islands, are not cities, so they do not appear in the ranking above. To see them, we ranked Miami-Dade and Broward ZIP codes with at least 1,000 residents:

Source: Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024, by ZIP Code Tabulation Area. ZIP codes do not follow neighborhood boundaries, so each label describes the main area it covers.

This is where Brickell, the financial district, shows up, with a mean income of $212,649, and Coconut Grove, with $190,157. In Miami Beach, Mid-Beach tops $200,000, while South Beach (33139), more touristy, stays at $148,138. Note that 33139 also includes Star Island, Palm, Hibiscus and the Venetian Islands, whose mansions are diluted among South Beach's apartments, and 33140 takes in North Bay Road and La Gorce.

What about Sunny Isles Beach and Aventura? They have luxury towers, but their mean income is more modest ($129,733 and $127,811), partly because 37% and 30% of their homes are second residences, whose owners are not counted as residents.

What each area is like

Fisher Island

A private island south of Miami Beach, which William K. Vanderbilt II acquired in the late 1920s and where he built his winter estate in the 1930s. Today it has luxury condo buildings, a beach club, a golf course and a marina. There is no bridge: you arrive by ferry, boat or helicopter. 95% of households own their home, and one in four homes is a second residence. According to Zillow, the typical condo is worth about $7.2 million.

Pinecrest

A residential village south of Coral Gables, with houses on large lots, lots of greenery and public schools that all earned an A in 2026. After Fisher Island, it is the richest community in Miami-Dade: more than 18,000 residents and half of households above $200,000. We cover it in full in our guide to living in Pinecrest.

Key Biscayne

An island 15 minutes from Brickell over the Rickenbacker Causeway, with two large beach parks and a very family-oriented, very Latin American community: 58% of residents were born outside the U.S. Its typical home is the most expensive among the county's larger communities. More in our guide to living in Key Biscayne.

Bal Harbour, Surfside and Bay Harbor Islands

Three small municipalities north of Miami Beach, with luxury oceanfront towers, the Bal Harbour Shops mall and houses on the bay islands. In Bal Harbour, 43% of homes are second residences, the highest share in Miami-Dade.

Coral Gables

A city planned in the 1920s, with Mediterranean-style houses and tree-lined streets, nearly 50,000 residents, the University of Miami and very exclusive bayfront enclaves such as Gables Estates and Cocoplum. More in our guide to living in Coral Gables.

Parkland, Southwest Ranches and Weston

Broward's wealth is in the west. Parkland is a family suburb with large houses and gated communities; Southwest Ranches, an almost rural area of horse properties on lots of several acres; and Weston, a planned city with all its public schools rated A and a large Venezuelan community.

Palmetto Bay and Miami Shores

Two quieter, lesser-known residential communities of houses with yards and big trees: Palmetto Bay, south of Pinecrest by the bay, and Miami Shores, north of the City of Miami. In both, more than a third of households earn over $200,000.

What about Palm Beach?

If you widen the view to Palm Beach County, part of the Miami metropolitan area, some of the richest places in the country appear. The town of Palm Beach, with 9,348 residents, has a mean household income of $357,254, and the typical house is worth about $10.6 million according to Zillow, the most expensive in South Florida. There, 39% of homes are second residences. Small coastal towns such as Manalapan and Gulf Stream, or the village of Golf, exceed even those income figures, though with very few residents.

Highly concentrated wealth

Miami's reputation as a city of millionaires coexists with a less glamorous reality for most people. Across Miami-Dade County, mean household income is $107,330 and only 11.6% of households earn more than $200,000, below the U.S. average ($113,530 and 13.4%). In the City of Miami, median household income is $62,462, and in Hialeah, $55,594.

These figures also understate the wealth of the most exclusive areas. The Census counts people at their usual residence, and many wealthy owners live here only part of the year: on Fisher Island and Key Biscayne, about one in four homes is a second residence, and in Bal Harbour, more than four in ten. And income is not wealth: a retiree with a large fortune may report a modest income. For the full picture, read Miami, city of millionaires.

What it means if you want to live there

• The entry price is high: in most of these areas the typical house tops $1 million, and on the islands and the waterfront, several million. Compare areas in our Miami home prices by area.
• So are the holding costs: property tax, insurance, fees and upkeep can add up to tens of thousands of dollars a year. We work through examples in the true cost of owning luxury property in Miami.
• Almost all of them are in flood zones: islands, coast and bay. Check the exact address on FEMA's map and get an insurance quote before making an offer.
• If you buy from abroad, there are specific rules and costs, such as FIRPTA withholding when you sell. We explain them in buying luxury property in Miami as a foreigner.

Frequently asked questions

Method note

We use the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2020-2024 five-year average) for every city and Census Designated Place (CDP) in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, and for the ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) mostly in Miami-Dade or Broward. Mean income is our calculation: aggregate household income (table B19025) divided by the number of households (B11001). The share of households at $200,000 or more comes from table B19001, and second homes are vacant units for seasonal or occasional use (B25004) as a share of all housing units. The Census caps median income at $250,000 and median home value at $2,000,000. In small places margins of error are large, so the main ranking only includes places with at least 1,000 residents. The current typical value is Zillow's ZHVI for mid-tier single-family homes, or condos where there is no house data, in September 2026. Indian Creek, Golden Beach and Sea Ranch Lakes populations are from the 2020 Census.