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Florida’s 20 Most Livable Cities and Towns

Florida is the southeasternmost U.S. state, with the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. It has hundreds of miles of beaches. Florida offers an abundance of choices for those seeking an exceptional living experience. Florida’s diverse landscape caters to a wide range of lifestyles and preferences. Whether you seek the cultural vibrancy of art-infused cities, the adventurous spirit of outdoor-centric towns, or the tranquillity of serene seaside retreats, Florida has a place for you. 

Prepare to embark on a journey through Florida’s diverse landscapes, where captivating cities and charming towns await. From the sun-kissed beaches of Sarasota to the historic allure of Pensacola, each destination promises a unique blend of culture, natural beauty, and endless possibilities. In this article, we delve into insights to unveil the 20 most livable cities and towns in Florida. These exceptional communities offer a harmonious blend of livability factors, ensuring a high quality of life for residents seeking an enriching and fulfilling experience.

1. Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota is a coastal city known for its beautiful beaches, vibrant arts scene, and abundance of retirement communities. Sarasota is a principal city of the Sarasota metropolitan area. According to the 2020 U.S. census, Sarasota had a population of 54,842. A large number of homes and buildings are designed in the Italian style, especially Venetian as influenced by Ringling’s Cà d’Zan. Italian-inspired statues are also common and Michelangelo’s David is used as the symbol of Sarasota.

The Sarasota neighbourhood of Pinecraft is home to a relatively liberal Amish community which is unusual compared to other Amish communities as it consists mainly of elderly who moved to Florida because of its mild climate, Amish people who are on holiday and Amish who do not fit in easily in other communities.

2. Naples, Florida

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Naples is mostly known for its high-priced homes, white-sand beaches, and numerous golf courses. Naples is the self-titled Golf Capital of the World, as it has the second most holes per capita out of all communities and the most holes of any city in Florida. The city is also known for being appealing to retirees, and a large percentage of the population is made up of them.

Naples is home to The Naples Players, Naples Shakespeare Festival, Opera Naples, the equity theatre company Theatre Zone, and Gulfshore Playhouse. The Naples Philharmonic and The Baker Museum are located at Artis, Naples, which also serves as the educational campus for the Naples Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Youth Chorus, Youth Jazz Orchestra and Youth Symphony. The Holocaust Museum and Education Center of Southwest Florida educate about 155,000 students each year both in its facility and with a local travelling exhibit.

3. Melbourne, Florida

Melbourne is a space coast city with a strong economy, a vibrant downtown, and a variety of outdoor and family-friendly activities. The municipality is the second-largest in the county by both size and population.

In 2009, Forbes ranked the area 18th out of 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas and first out of 8 metros in Florida for affordable housing, and short commute times, among others.

4. Jacksonville, Florida

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Jacksonville is the largest city in Florida and offers a variety of neighbourhoods, from historic downtown to trendy suburbs. Harbour improvements since the late 19th century have made Jacksonville a major military and civilian deep-water port. Its riverine location facilitates Naval Station Mayport, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, the U.S. Marine Corps Blount Island Command, and the Port of Jacksonville, Florida’s largest seaport by volume.

Jacksonville’s military bases and the nearby Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay form the third largest military presence in the United States. Significant factors in the local economy include services such as banking, insurance, healthcare and logistics. As with much of Florida, tourism is important to the Jacksonville area, particularly tourism related to golf with the PGA Tour headquarters located in nearby Ponte Vedra Beach. People from Jacksonville are sometimes called Jacksonvillians or Jaxsons.  

5. Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is a historic city with a charming downtown, beautiful beaches, and a strong military presence. It is nicknamed The City of Five Flags, due to the five governments that have ruled it during its history: the flags of Spain, France, Great Britain, the United States of America, and the Confederate States of America. Other nicknames include World’s Whitest Beaches, due to the white sand of Florida panhandle beaches.

Pensacola is home to a number of annual festivals, events, historic tours, and landmarks. The Pensacola Seafood Festival and the Pensacola Crawfish Festival have been held for nearly 30 years in the city’s historic downtown. The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival is held annually in November in Seville Square and often draws more than 200 regional and international artists. The Children’s Art Festival, also held in Seville Square, displays art by local schoolchildren. Pensacon is a comic convention held each February, with nearly 25,000 attendees from around the world. The Pensacola Interstate Fair is held each fall.

6. Daytona Beach, Florida

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Daytona Beach is historically known for its beach, where the hard-packed sand allows motorized vehicles on the beach in restricted areas. This hard-packed sand made Daytona Beach a hub for motorsports, and the old Daytona Beach and Road Course hosted races for over 50 years. This was replaced in 1959 by Daytona International Speedway. The city is also the headquarters of NASCAR.

Daytona Beach hosts large groups of out-of-towners during the year, who visit the city for various events, notably Speedweeks in early February when over 200,000 NASCAR fans come to attend the season-opening Daytona 500. Other events include the NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 race in August, Bike Week in early March, Biketoberfest in late October, and the 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race in January.

7. Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee is the state capital of Florida. Tallahassee is the largest city in the Florida Big Bend and Florida Panhandle region, and the main centre for trade and agriculture in the Florida Big Bend and Southwest Georgia regions. With a student population exceeding 70,000, Tallahassee is a college town, home to Florida State University.

As the capital, Tallahassee is the site of the Florida State Capitol, Supreme Court of Florida, Florida Governor’s Mansion, and nearly 30 state agency headquarters. The city is also known for its large number of law firms, lobbying organizations, trade associations and professional associations, including the Florida Bar and the Florida Chamber of Commerce. It is a recognized regional centre for scientific research and home to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. 

8. Orlando, Florida

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Orlando had a city population of 307,573 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Miami, and Tampa. It is the state’s most populous inland city. Orlando is one of the most-visited cities in the world primarily due to tourism, major events, and convention traffic. It is the fourth-most visited city in the U.S. after New York City, Miami, and Los Angeles with over 4.4 million visitors as of 2019. 

The two largest and most internationally renowned tourist attractions in the Orlando area are the Walt Disney World Resort and the Universal Orlando Resort. The city is also one of the busiest American cities for conferences and conventions; Orange County Convention Center is the second-largest convention facility in the United States. In 2010, Orlando was listed as a Gamma+ level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

9. Port St. Lucie, Florida

Port St. Lucie is a planned community with a variety of parks, lakes, and golf courses. It is the most populous municipality in the county and the seventh-most populous city in Florida. Beginning in late 2019, Port St. Lucie began naming different neighbourhoods throughout the city. As of 2020, there are 33 neighbourhoods in Port St. Lucie. 

Port St. Lucie is the spring training home to the New York Mets. The PGA Village golf complex includes 54 holes of golf as well as a learning centre and a historical centre. The city also hosted the Ginn sur Mer Classic at Tesoro, the city’s first-ever PGA Tour event, in 2007. Port St. Lucie is served by St. Lucie County Public Schools, which is a school district which serves the rest of St. Lucie County.

10. Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville is home to the University of Florida, the fourth-largest public university campus by enrollment in the United States as of the 2021–2022 academic year. Gainesville offers a lively college-town atmosphere.

Gainesville’s east side houses the majority of the city’s African-American community, while the west side consists of mainly student and White resident communities. West of the city limits are large-scale planned communities, most notably Haile Plantation, which was built on the site of its eponymous former plantation.

11. Palm Harbor, Florida

Palm Harbor is a largely residential community with several concentrations of commerce. Downtown Palm Harbor, north of Tampa Road between U.S. Highway 19 Alternate and Omaha Street hosts many small shops and eateries along with a handful of historic buildings.

The historic downtown district of Palm Harbor, at Florida Avenue has numerous festivals and craft fairs. Old Palm Harbor Main Streets, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, hosts their signature event on the first Friday of every month. Palm Harbor’s First Friday Celebrations are a popular community event for youngsters and adults alike. The Taste of Palm Harbor traditionally offers live music and the tasting of samples from over 20 local restaurants, many of which make seafood their speciality. 

12. Boca Raton, Florida

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Boca Raton is a coastal city in Florida known for its beautiful beaches and world-class golf courses. Many people with a Boca Raton postal address live outside of municipal boundaries, such as in West Boca Raton. As a business centre, the city also experiences significant daytime population increases. The city has a strict development code for the size and types of commercial buildings, building signs, and advertisements that may be erected within the city limit, which has led to major thoroughfares without billboards and large advertisements, as well as increased green spaces on roads.

Boca Raton also became a key city in the development of the early computer industry. Still centred around luxury beach culture, the city today is dotted by many malls and shopping centres, including the Town Center at Boca Raton. The ODP Corporation, which operates Office Depot and OfficeMax, is headquartered here. Boca Raton is also home to the main campus of Florida Atlantic University and the Evert Tennis Academy.

13. Marco Island, Florida

Marco Island is home to an affluent beach community with resort amenities. There are two public access locations with parking and amenities, Tigertail and South Beach, a private beach complex for residents, Residents’ Beach, and a private parking area for residents, Sarazen Park at South Beach, and two other public access points, with no amenities. Offshore island beaches, such as Keewaydin, are accessible by boat or tour. The population in Marco Island more than doubles in size during the winter season

14. Fort Myers, Florida

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Fort Myers is a gateway to the Southwest Florida region and a major tourist destination within Florida. The winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford are major attractions. The city takes its name from a local former fort that was built during the Seminole Wars. Fort Myers is a coastal city also known for its beautiful beaches and historic downtown.

Fort Myers has substantial African-American and Latin-American populations. Centennial Park downtown along the Caloosahatchee River, the IMAG History & Science Center, Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium, and other historical sites are among the attractions.

15. Bradenton, Florida

Bradenton is a coastal city known for its beautiful beaches, Anna Maria Island, and IMG Academy. Downtown Manatee is along the Manatee River and includes the Bradenton Riverwalk. 

Downtown Bradenton is also home to the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature. To the south of Bradenton is Sarasota, beach communities on Anna Maria Island are to its west, and the Manatee River and Palmetto on the other side of it are to its north.

16. Stuart, Florida

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Stuart is frequently cited as one of the best small towns to visit in the U.S., in large part because of its proximity to the St. Lucie River, Indian River Lagoon, and the Atlantic Ocean.

Stuart hosts one of the two Florida Department of Health offices in Martin County, the other being in Indiantown. Various businesses cater to tourists, such as fishing charters, boating charters, sailing, cruises, SCUBA and snorkelling, and nature tours.

17. Lake Mary, Florida

Lake Mary is a suburban city that is located in the Greater Orlando metropolitan area in Seminole County, Florida, United States and is located in Central Florida. Lake Mary is a planned community with a variety of parks, lakes, and golf courses. There are 7 public schools, 5 private schools, 2 colleges Seminole State College of Florida, and ECPI University, and 1 library in the greater Lake Mary area.

The American Automobile Association, AAA, National Office is located in Lake Mary and is one of the largest business employers in the area. Dixon Ticonderoga, one of the world’s largest producers of pencils and art supplies, has put its headquarters in Lake Mary. Accesso, an English technology firm involved in the leisure industry, has its North American headquarters in Lake Mary.

18. Winter Park, Florida

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Winter Park is a charming city with a beautiful lake, Rollins College, and the Morse Museum of American Art. Winter Park was founded as a resort community by northern business magnates in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Its main street, called Park Avenue, is located in the middle of town. It includes civic buildings, retail, art galleries, a private liberal arts college, museums, a park, a train station, a golf course country club, a historic cemetery, and a beach and boat launch.

19. Vero Beach, Florida

Vero Beach is the second most populous city in Indian River County, after Sebastian. Abundant in beaches and wildlife, Vero Beach is located on Florida’s Treasure Coast. It was named the 7th Best Small Beach Town in Florida by Southern Living Magazine in 2023.

Vero Beach is home to general aviation manufacturer Piper Aircraft, which is the largest private employer in Indian River County. The beaches in Vero Beach are part of Florida’s Treasure Coast. Vero’s three main public beaches are South Beach, accessible at the eastern end of Florida State Road 656 at the eastern end of 17th Street; Humiston Park, in Vero’s Central Beach Business District on Ocean Drive and Jaycee Park which is adjacent to Conn Beach. 

20. Jupiter, Florida

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Jupiter is a coastal city known for its beautiful beaches, Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, and Roger Dean Stadium. Jupiter was named the 9th Best Southern Beach Town to live in by Stacker Newsletter for 2022, was rated as the 12th Best Beach Town in the United States by WalletHub in 2018, and was the 9th Happiest Seaside Town in the United States by Coastal Living in 2012.

From bustling urban centres to charming coastal towns, Florida offers a myriad of living options, each with its unique allure. Whether you’re seeking a vibrant arts scene, an abundance of outdoor activities, or a tranquil escape amidst nature’s embrace, Florida has something to offer everyone.