Best Neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale, FL
11 neighborhoods ranked by safety, walkability, affordability, and quality of life — powered by real data from the US Census, FBI, EPA, and Walk Score.
Best Neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale, FL — Key Takeaways
The best neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale is Poinsettia Heights with a Kurby Score of 77/100. Fort Lauderdale has 11 neighborhoods ranked by quality of life data. The safest neighborhood is Poinsettia Heights with a violent crime rate of 3.8 per 1,000 residents. The most affordable is Tarpon River with a median home value of $307,000. The most walkable is Flagler Village with a Walk Score of 95/100.
Fort Lauderdale has a population of 182,760, a median household income of $56,100, an unemployment rate of 4.2%. The median home value citywide is $385,000, which is 37% above the national average of $281,900.
Data sourced from the US Census Bureau, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA AirNow, Walk Score, and FEMA. Last updated: March 2026.
Top 3 Neighborhoods
| # | Neighborhood | Kurby Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poinsettia Heights | 77 | ||
| Coral Ridge | 73 | ||
| Fort Lauderdale Beach | 72 | ||
4 | Las Olas | 71 | |
5 | Harbor Beach | 67 | |
6 | Sailboat Bend | 65 | |
7 | Colee Hammock | 65 | |
8 | Rio Vista | 63 | |
9 | Flagler Village | 62 | |
10 | Victoria Park | 62 | |
11 | Tarpon River | 61 |
Rankings by Category
Top 5 neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale for each quality-of-life metric.
Lowest violent crime rate
- 3.8 per 1K
- 3.8 per 1K
- 3.8 per 1K
- 3.8 per 1K
- 3.8 per 1K
Highest Walk Score
- 95/100
- 85/100
- 82/100
- 81/100
- 70/100
Lowest median home value
- $307,000
- $378,300
- $429,800
- $440,500
- $473,500
Lowest poverty rate
- 2.6%
- 2.7%
- 3.0%
- 5.9%
- 7.8%
Lowest unemployment rate
- 4.2%
- 4.2%
- 4.2%
- 4.2%
- 4.2%
Highest median household income
- $126,620
- $111,643
- $111,524
- $96,200
- $93,788
Lowest Air Quality Index
- AQI 38
- AQI 38
- AQI 38
- AQI 38
- AQI 38
Neighborhoods are ranked using the Kurby Score, a composite quality-of-life index that evaluates seven weighted categories based on publicly available data:
- Affordability
- 20% weight
- Walkability & Transit
- 15% weight
- Safety
- 15% weight
- Environment
- 15% weight
- Housing Market
- 15% weight
- Education
- 10% weight
- Economy
- 10% weight
Each category incorporates multiple data points. For example, Safety uses both violent and property crime rates; Environment considers air quality (AQI), noise levels, climate risk, and flood zone status; Housing Market factors in vacancy rates, homeownership rates, and effective tax rates.
Data Sources: US Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR), EPA AirNow, Walk Score, DOT National Transportation Noise Map, FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and EIA Electricity Data. All data is updated on a rolling basis as new government releases become available.