Moving to
South Miami Heights.

All South Miami Heights data Compare South Miami Heights

38,766people live here $65,417median household income▼ 19% below US $1,605median rent per month▲ 14% above US $407,100median home value▲ 22% above US

South Miami Heights is an unincorporated community in Miami-Dade 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 South Miami Heights

South Miami Heights is an unincorporated community in Florida with county unemployment below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. South Miami Heights deals with household incomes below the national average, commute times longer than most cities, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and college degree attainment below the national average.

The good

Low unemployment in the county

The not so good

Below-average household incomes
Above-average commute times
Air quality concerns
Low college degree attainment
High student-teacher ratio
High rent burden for renters

How South Miami Heights compares

Median household income

South Miami Heights$65,417

Florida avg$74,568

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

South Miami Heights$1,605

Florida avg$1,669

US$1,413

Median home value

South Miami Heights$407,100

Florida avg$359,000

US$332,700

What it takes to move to South Miami Heights

Based on South Miami Heights's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$3,210

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $64,200 a year
58% of South Miami Heights renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$81,420

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $40,710
Homes cost 6.2× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 14% above US

$1,605/mo median rent

Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,605 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices run above average, with a median around $407,100. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $407,100 · 58% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

2.7% county unemployment

Unemployment in Miami-Dade County is 2.7%, well below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Miami-Dade County (county-wide)

Safety

336 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

South Miami Heights doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Miami-Dade County Police Department jurisdiction as a whole, which runs close to the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 1810/100k · Policed by Miami-Dade County Police Department (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 33% above US

35 min average commute

Traffic is a real factor here. The 34.7 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 8% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

78%

Carpool

11%

Work from home

7.7%

Public transit

1.8%

Other

1.2%

Walk

0.3%

Climate

Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 90°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 57°F. It's a wet climate overall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▼ 46% below US

20% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.

Schools

8 public schools inside the boundary

There are 8 public schools inside the boundary and 10 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 20:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Biscayne National Park (13 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

South Miami Heights's strongest point is county unemployment below the national average; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and commute times longer than most cities. A year of median rent ($1,605/mo) equals 29% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low). It may be a harder fit for people who dread long commutes and anyone who doesn't drive.

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