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Start with the school, because in Florida the address decides it. The state grades its public schools and every school district from A to F each year; for 2025-26, 34 of the 67 districts were graded A, 23 B and 10 C, and none D or F.
A district graded A still has schools graded lower, so look up the grade of the exact school assigned to the address before you make an offer. Florida also pays toward private school: any student who could enroll in a Florida public school, from kindergarten through 12th grade, can apply for a Family Empowerment Scholarship toward private school tuition. The income limit was removed in 2023-24, though lower-income families are considered first, and families apply through a nonprofit scholarship organization, not through the school district. By the Census Bureau's figures, the counties with the largest share of residents under 18 include Osceola, Clay and Okaloosa among the larger counties, and the small inland counties of Hendry, Hardee and Baker.
Population 427,415. Typical home sale price $388,903 in the three months ending June 2026; typical condo $215,000 in May 2026. Median household income $72,637; 13.4% of residents are 65 or older. (Source: Redfin; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, published January 2026)
Open the county guide →Population 227,584. Typical home sale price about $351,500 from March to May 2026. Median household income $87,820; 17.1% of residents are 65 or older. (Source: Redfin; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, published January 2026)
Open the county guide →Population 216,599. Typical home sale price $378,382 in the three months ending June 2026; typical condo $410,000 in May 2026. Median household income $81,998; 16.6% of residents are 65 or older. (Source: Redfin; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, published January 2026)
Open the county guide →The six checks that decide whether a Florida county is right for you: housing cost, flood and wind, schools, healthcare, daily travel and storm readiness.
Open the page →Florida's youngest counties are its two big college towns. Leon County, around Tallahassee, home to Florida State and Florida A&M, and Alachua County, around Gainesville, home to the University of Florida, have a median age of about 32, the lowest in the state by the Census Bureau's latest five-year figures.
Read the answer →By the Census Bureau's latest five-year figures, six Florida counties have more than a million residents: Miami-Dade, the largest by far with more than 2.7 million, then Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Orange and Duval.
Nine of Florida's 67 counties have fewer than 16,000 residents, and all but one are in North Florida, the Panhandle and the Big Bend; the exception is Glades, on the west side of Lake Okeechobee.
The savings are in taxes; the costs are in housing and insurance.
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