Florida has been a favorite place for retirees for a long time. But in the past few years, families with working members have been moving to the state because it has good job prospects, a low cost of living, and no state income tax.

Not to mention that the winters are mild and that the peninsula and panhandle have about 825 miles of beaches along the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

Not to mention the mild winters and the approximately 825 miles of beaches that stretch throughout the peninsula and panhandle along the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

The Top Residential Areas Across Florida

If you want to know where the best places to live in Florida are, our guide should help you find your perfect neighborhood. We looked at recent data on things like the median home price, individual income per capita, unemployment rate, and crime rate to figure out how people live in each metro area.

1. Pensacola

Pensacola is close to 50 miles of beach on the Gulf of Mexico. A naval aviation base and the aerobatic flying demonstration team U.S. Navy Blue Angels call this location home as well. Financial services, health care, manufacturing, and tourism are all big industries with lots of job opportunities.

2. Tallahassee

Both Florida State and Florida A&M are located in Tallahassee, the state capital. This city is a good choice if you want to live in a college town, are interested in politics, or want to live in an area of the Florida Panhandle that isn’t full of tourists, since the closest beach is an hour away.

3. Sarasota

Sarasota is an attractive option for anyone seeking a central Florida coastal community that welcomes families and has a sizable resident labor force.

When you want to go to a big city, you can drive 60 miles north to the busy metro area of Tampa. As a quick comparison, there are about 750,000 people living in the greater Sarasota metro area, while almost 3 million people live in the greater Tampa metro area.

3. Melbourne

Melbourne is on Florida’s “Space Coast,” which is a popular place for beach vacations and rocket launches all year round. Full-time residents can find jobs in the aerospace and manufacturing industries that pay well.

4. Greater Miami Area

Miami is probably the most exciting city in Florida. It has beautiful beaches, bright buildings, a lively nightlife, and a lot of Caribbean and Latin American culture. The city is also known for its art and fashion shows.

Since more than 6 million people live in Miami, which is Florida’s largest metro area, there are many job opportunities. The main fields of employment include the aviation industry, the financial sector, international trade, healthcare, and the tourism industry.

5. Orlando

Orlando is the most famous city in central Florida, mostly because of places like Disney World and Universal Studios that draw a lot of tourists. But it’s more than just a place where tourists and business people go. Biotech, IT, and health care are also growing industries in Orlando, which makes it one of the best places for young adults in Florida.

6. Cape Coral

Cape Coral, Florida, is a popular place to live because of its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and low crime rate, and it is included in the greater Fort Myers metropolitan region. People who live there like to walk around the freshwater lakes and canals and relax on a saltwater beach with sand.

Cape Coral wants to grow in the biotech, marine, and medical industries. Several companies also run back-office and call-center operations from the area.

7. Jacksonville

Even though Jacksonville has more land area than any other city in Florida, its metro area has less people than either Miami or Tampa. You can enjoy the conveniences of a big city and live on the Atlantic Ocean, but the cost of living isn’t too high.

The biggest job opportunities in the seven-county metro area are in banking, health care, and transportation. Many of Florida’s top financial institutions are located in the city, and it is home to one of the three Mayo Clinics in the United States.