Poorest Cities In Florida For 2022


We used science and data to determine which places in Florida are basically dead broke.

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Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the poorest places in Florida.

Florida brings to mind images of Tallahassee, beautiful landscapes, and some of the best people you'll find in the good ole US of A.

However, like all states, Florida has certain places that are going on hard times. These places have an above average percent of people that are living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.

With all the talk about income inequality going on around the country, we thought it prudent to take a look at the places in each state that are struggling to make it even as the economy continues to improve. So we set our sites on bringing attention to the places in Florida that could use a helping hand.

To do so, we analyzed the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 221 places in Florida with more than 5,000 people.

Here are the ten poorest places in Florida for 2022:

  1. Pahokee
  2. Belle Glade
  3. Opa-locka
  4. Avon Park
  5. Sebring
  6. Perry
  7. Florida City
  8. Palatka
  9. Inverness
  10. South Bay

Again, this isn't a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it's just a look at the facts.

What's the poorst city in Florida? According to the facts, Pahokee is the poorest place in Florida for 2022.

Rich people more your cup of tea? Feel free to check out the best places in Florida or the most dangerous.

For more on how we calculated the top ten, and for more information about these places, read on.

If you're looking for something more national, check out the poorest states in America or the poorest cities in America.

For more Florida reading, check out:

The 10 Poorest Cities In Florida For 2022

1. Pahokee

Pahokee, FL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 6,286
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 2)
Median Income: $30,180 (5th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 23.8% (highest)
Poverty Rate: 37.6% (3rd highest)
More on Pahokee:  Data | Photos

Pahokee, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Florida thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.

The city of 6,286 people averages the 5th lowest median household income in Florida and the 3rd highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.

2. Belle Glade

Belle Glade, FL

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 19,829
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Median Income: $28,028 (4th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 13.3% (6th highest)
Poverty Rate: 40.2% (2nd highest)
More on Belle Glade:  Data | Photos

The second poorest city in Florida is Belle Glade.

The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and 4th lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate 'only' ranks as the 6th highest in the Sunshine State.

3. Opa-Locka

Opa-Locka, FL

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 16,008
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $22,494 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.6% (10th highest)
Poverty Rate: 40.4% (highest)
More on Opa-Locka:  Data | Photos

Placing as the third poorest city, Opa-locka's median income ranks as the lowest.

And that's a sign that there's a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 40.415025939121186% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.

But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Sunshine State.

4. Avon Park

Avon Park, FL

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 10,539
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Median Income: $30,574 (7th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 17.1% (2nd highest)
Poverty Rate: 26.3% (17th highest)
More on Avon Park:  Data | Photos

Avon Park ranks as the fourth poorest place in Florida.

The town ranks as having the 7th lowest median household income and the 17th highest incidence of poverty in the state.

That being said, there's still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.

5. Sebring

Sebring, FL

Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 10,454
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $30,655 (8th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 17.1% (3rd highest)
Poverty Rate: 26.6% (16th highest)
More on Sebring:  Data | Photos

The fifth poorest city in Florida is Sebring.

The city ranks as having the 8th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 16th highest in Florida.

Still not the best news for Sebring.

6. Perry

Perry, FL

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,884
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 5)
Median Income: $34,788 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 9.3% (16th highest)
Poverty Rate: 32.2% (5th highest)
More on Perry:  Data | Photos

Perry ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Sunshine State.

It ranks as having the 5th highest incidence of poverty and the 16th highest unemployment rate.

7. Florida City

Florida City, FL

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 11,855
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 1)
Median Income: $37,556 (20th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 12.4% (7th highest)
Poverty Rate: 31.1% (7th highest)
More on Florida City:  Data | Photos

Florida City places as the seventh poorest city in Florida.

The city of over 11,855 ranks as having the 7th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.

8. Palatka

Palatka, FL

Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 10,388
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Median Income: $27,143 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (22nd highest)
Poverty Rate: 30.1% (11th highest)
More on Palatka:  Data | Photos

Palatka ranks as the eighth poorest city in Florida.

The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as the 22nd highest in the state.

9. Inverness

Inverness, FL

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,399
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 3)
Median Income: $30,308 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.6% (11th highest)
Poverty Rate: 21.5% (27th highest)
More on Inverness:  Data | Photos

Inverness couldn't stay out of the top ten poorest places in Florida; it ranks number 9.

While the median income is the 6th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Inverness ranks as having the 27th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Florida.

10. South Bay

South Bay, FL

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 6,665
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $40,117 (3lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 10.7% (9th highest)
Poverty Rate: 27.7% (15th highest)
More on South Bay:  Data | Photos

And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Florida is South Bay.

The city of 6,665 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Sunshine State.

Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Florida for 2022

The first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.

However, we don't think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the "poorest places". So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2016-2020 American Community Survey:

  • Poverty Level
  • Median Household Income adjusted for the cost of living
  • Unemployment Rate

The "median household income adjusted for the cost of living" attempts to gauge how expensive it is to live in a place and how that impacts the quality of life. For example, a town might have fewer people living below the official poverty line, but the cost of living is so high they'd still feel poor.

The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for improvement in the city or town. If more people are employed, the brighter the future looks and vice versa.

After we collected the data for all 221 places with more than 5,000 people in Florida, we ranked each place from 1 to 221 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.

We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a "Poor Score" with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Pahokee, crowned the "Poorest Place In Florida For 2022". You can download the data here.

Summary: The Poorest Places In Florida For 2022

Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Florida, we weren't sure what we'd encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Florida.

When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.

If you're curious enough, here are the richest cities in Florida, according to data:

    Richest: Lake Mary
    2nd Richest: Palm Beach
    3rd Richest: Longboat Key

For more Florida reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Florida

Rank City Population Poverty Rate
1 Pahokee 6,286 37.6%
2 Belle Glade 19,829 40.2%
3 Opa-Locka 16,008 40.4%
4 Avon Park 10,539 26.3%
5 Sebring 10,454 26.6%
6 Perry 6,884 32.2%
7 Florida City 11,855 31.1%
8 Palatka 10,388 30.1%
9 Inverness 7,399 21.5%
10 South Bay 6,665 27.7%
11 Holly Hill 12,259 29.6%
12 Fort Pierce 45,855 28.6%
13 Leesburg 23,142 20.7%
14 Arcadia 8,187 30.2%
15 Starke 5,415 31.7%
16 Wildwood 7,339 25.0%
17 Lauderdale Lakes 36,063 21.6%
18 Fellsmere 5,692 16.5%
19 Live Oak 6,929 21.5%
20 Marianna 6,607 30.4%
21 Ocala 60,021 19.2%
22 Palmetto 13,678 21.4%
23 Haines City 25,178 19.8%
24 Belleview 5,028 18.8%
25 Hallandale Beach 39,782 20.7%
26 Lauderhill 71,827 19.1%
27 Fort Meade 6,163 17.0%
28 Clewiston 7,910 19.0%
29 South Pasadena 5,090 18.8%
30 Riviera Beach 35,025 20.0%
31 Tallahassee 192,885 25.2%
32 Daytona Beach 68,711 20.5%
33 North Miami 62,468 19.2%
34 New Port Richey 16,542 16.2%
35 West Park 15,052 17.1%
36 Pembroke Park 6,716 22.5%
37 Miami Gardens 110,767 17.3%
38 North Lauderdale 44,189 18.7%
39 Kissimmee 72,410 25.1%
40 Lake City 12,166 20.2%
41 Gainesville 133,611 29.7%
42 Dania Beach 32,125 16.3%
43 North Miami Beach 42,824 15.5%
44 Miami 461,080 21.5%
45 Defuniak Springs 6,696 13.8%
46 Brooksville 8,384 18.8%
47 Homestead 68,937 23.0%
48 Pompano Beach 111,202 17.3%
49 Deerfield Beach 80,822 16.8%
50 Quincy 7,237 34.8%
51 Labelle 5,186 30.2%
52 Panama City 35,952 17.5%
53 South Daytona 13,098 18.7%
54 Greenacres 41,242 16.2%
55 West Palm Beach 111,006 17.0%
56 Lake Alfred 5,993 18.5%
57 St. Augustine 15,065 17.0%
58 Titusville 46,307 13.5%
59 Springfield 9,004 23.3%
60 Hialeah 233,876 19.6%
61 Zephyrhills 16,062 17.8%
62 Clearwater 115,975 15.3%
63 Lakeland 110,335 15.5%
64 Cocoa 20,151 13.0%
65 Lantana 11,958 11.7%
66 Mount Dora 14,201 14.6%
67 Sanford 60,337 16.6%
68 Lady Lake 15,695 13.2%
69 High Springs 5,875 23.7%
70 Okeechobee 5,574 18.4%
71 Fruitland Park 9,185 13.6%
72 Sweetwater 20,852 17.7%
73 Lake Wales 16,515 15.5%
74 Bradenton 57,346 13.7%
75 Palm Bay 113,751 13.4%
76 Tampa 395,912 17.5%
77 Oakland Park 44,950 15.3%
78 Tavares 17,228 8.9%
79 Pinellas Park 53,486 13.2%
80 Palm Springs 25,168 12.4%
81 Tamarac 66,432 14.3%
82 Callaway 14,691 11.7%
83 Largo 84,666 12.3%
84 Sunrise 94,657 12.3%
85 Dade City 7,270 15.9%
86 Eustis 21,010 16.0%
87 Tarpon Springs 25,389 11.5%
88 Boynton Beach 78,060 12.9%
89 Winter Haven 42,933 16.7%
90 Lake Park 8,541 20.2%
91 Vero Beach 17,163 11.1%
92 Pensacola 52,918 15.9%
93 Casselberry 28,502 16.1%
94 Fort Myers 83,505 16.0%
95 Fort Lauderdale 181,818 15.8%
96 Bartow 19,762 17.3%
97 St. Cloud 53,132 11.6%
98 Hollywood 153,834 11.6%
99 Jacksonville 902,488 15.0%
100 Orlando 284,817 16.1%

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