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Moving to
Iona.
Iona is an unincorporated community in Lee County, FL. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.
What it's like to live in Iona
Iona is an unincorporated community in Florida with a highly educated workforce. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Iona deals with rent well above the national average, household incomes below the national average, a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin, and hot summers.
The good
- Highly educated workforce
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- Below-average household incomes
- High rent burden for renters
- Hot summers
- Above-average rainfall
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
How Iona compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Iona
Based on Iona's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$3,826
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $76,520 a year
- 73% of Iona renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$64,560
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $32,280
- Homes cost 4.8× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 35% above US
$1,913/mo median rent
Rent is expensive here, at $1,913 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $322,800. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.
Median home value $322,800 · 73% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.3% county unemployment
Unemployment in Lee County is 4.3%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Lee County (county-wide)
Safety
188 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Iona doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Lee County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 746/100k · Policed by Lee County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
26 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 25.8 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 7 in 10 workers drive to work; 25% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 91°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 56°F. It's a wet climate overall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforceNear US average
39% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 39% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
0 public schools inside the boundary
No public school is located inside the boundary; students attend schools in the surrounding district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Big Cypress National Preserve (67 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Iona's strongest point is a highly educated workforce; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and household incomes below the national average. A year of median rent ($1,913/mo) equals 34% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (25% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget.
Other places near Iona
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