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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:
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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:
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Richest: Lake Mary
2nd Richest: Palm Beach
3rd Richest: Longboat Key
For more Florida reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Florida
- Safest Places In Florida
- Worst Places To Live In Florida
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Florida
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Florida
Rank | City | Population |
---|---|---|
1 | Pahokee | 6,286 |
2 | Belle Glade | 19,829 |
3 | Opa-Locka | 16,008 |
4 | Avon Park | 10,539 |
5 | Sebring | 10,454 |
6 | Perry | 6,884 |
7 | Florida City | 11,855 |
8 | Palatka | 10,388 |
9 | Inverness | 7,399 |
10 | South Bay | 6,665 |
11 | Holly Hill | 12,259 |
12 | Fort Pierce | 45,855 |
13 | Leesburg | 23,142 |
14 | Arcadia | 8,187 |
15 | Starke | 5,415 |
16 | Wildwood | 7,339 |
17 | Lauderdale Lakes | 36,063 |
18 | Fellsmere | 5,692 |
19 | Live Oak | 6,929 |
20 | Marianna | 6,607 |
21 | Ocala | 60,021 |
22 | Palmetto | 13,678 |
23 | Haines City | 25,178 |
24 | Belleview | 5,028 |
25 | Hallandale Beach | 39,782 |
26 | Lauderhill | 71,827 |
27 | Fort Meade | 6,163 |
28 | Clewiston | 7,910 |
29 | South Pasadena | 5,090 |
30 | Riviera Beach | 35,025 |
31 | Tallahassee | 192,885 |
32 | Daytona Beach | 68,711 |
33 | North Miami | 62,468 |
34 | New Port Richey | 16,542 |
35 | West Park | 15,052 |
36 | Pembroke Park | 6,716 |
37 | Miami Gardens | 110,767 |
38 | North Lauderdale | 44,189 |
39 | Kissimmee | 72,410 |
40 | Lake City | 12,166 |
41 | Gainesville | 133,611 |
42 | Dania Beach | 32,125 |
43 | North Miami Beach | 42,824 |
44 | Miami | 461,080 |
45 | Defuniak Springs | 6,696 |
46 | Brooksville | 8,384 |
47 | Homestead | 68,937 |
48 | Pompano Beach | 111,202 |
49 | Deerfield Beach | 80,822 |
50 | Quincy | 7,237 |
51 | Labelle | 5,186 |
52 | Panama City | 35,952 |
53 | South Daytona | 13,098 |
54 | Greenacres | 41,242 |
55 | West Palm Beach | 111,006 |
56 | Lake Alfred | 5,993 |
57 | St. Augustine | 15,065 |
58 | Titusville | 46,307 |
59 | Springfield | 9,004 |
60 | Hialeah | 233,876 |
61 | Zephyrhills | 16,062 |
62 | Clearwater | 115,975 |
63 | Lakeland | 110,335 |
64 | Cocoa | 20,151 |
65 | Lantana | 11,958 |
66 | Mount Dora | 14,201 |
67 | Sanford | 60,337 |
68 | Lady Lake | 15,695 |
69 | High Springs | 5,875 |
70 | Okeechobee | 5,574 |
71 | Fruitland Park | 9,185 |
72 | Sweetwater | 20,852 |
73 | Lake Wales | 16,515 |
74 | Bradenton | 57,346 |
75 | Palm Bay | 113,751 |
76 | Tampa | 395,912 |
77 | Oakland Park | 44,950 |
78 | Tavares | 17,228 |
79 | Pinellas Park | 53,486 |
80 | Palm Springs | 25,168 |
81 | Tamarac | 66,432 |
82 | Callaway | 14,691 |
83 | Largo | 84,666 |
84 | Sunrise | 94,657 |
85 | Dade City | 7,270 |
86 | Eustis | 21,010 |
87 | Tarpon Springs | 25,389 |
88 | Boynton Beach | 78,060 |
89 | Winter Haven | 42,933 |
90 | Lake Park | 8,541 |
91 | Vero Beach | 17,163 |
92 | Pensacola | 52,918 |
93 | Casselberry | 28,502 |
94 | Fort Myers | 83,505 |
95 | Fort Lauderdale | 181,818 |
96 | Bartow | 19,762 |
97 | St. Cloud | 53,132 |
98 | Hollywood | 153,834 |
99 | Jacksonville | 902,488 |
100 | Orlando | 284,817 |