Fort Lauderdale, FL — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Florida·Fort Lauderdale

Broward County · Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach · population 190,641

Fort Lauderdale, FL
Image: Wikipedia · Fort Lauderdale, Florida
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
55
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Fort Lauderdale stands

Home values down 4.4% in the last year.

Median home $510,297
1-year -4.4%
5-yr CAGR +5.5%
vs 5-yr peak -7.0%
Population +1.1%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2024-04$510k$271k$371k$471k$571k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
64/100
Somewhat walkable
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
30/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
92/100
Excellent for remote work
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$2,737/mo$1,839$2,370$2,901202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent131140100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 15.5
Lean buy

At a 15.5 price-to-rent ratio, Fort Lauderdale is in the 'depends on horizon' zone. Buy if you'll be there 5+ years and value flexibility on the home; rent if you might move, want zero maintenance friction, or expect rates to drop.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
28 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
68 · w22%
Distance from peak
54 · w18%
Population growth
66 · w16%
Rent YoY
63 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
66 · w10%
Long thesis

Fort Lauderdale has held up across the cycle: home values at $510,297 with +5.5% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Fort Lauderdale is down 4.4% over the last 12 months and the trend isn't flattening. Falling knife rule applies: you don't catch one with your hands, you wait for it to hit the floor and stop moving.

About Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale is a city in Broward County, Florida, with an estimated population of 190,641. It anchors the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metro area. The population grew 1.1% annually from 2020 to 2024, a moderate gain. The median home value in Fort Lauderdale is $510,297 as of 2026-04, down 4.4% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +5.5% annual growth (-7.0% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Fort Lauderdale average $2,737 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+2.7%). The composite momentum score is 55 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Healthy 5-year run: +5.5% annualized over 5 years, outpacing US inflation.
●Net positive migration: population up 1.1% per year — demand fundamentals are intact.

▼ Bear case

●Cooling: -4.4% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Fort Lauderdale (Wikipedia)

Fort Lauderdale is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, 30 miles (48 km) north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the seat of government of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth-most populous city in Florida. After Miami and Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale is the third-most populous city in the Miami Metro Area, which had a population of 6,166,488 in 2019.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorDean Trantalis (D)
Area36.30 sq mi
Elevation7 ft
EstablishedMarch 27, 1911
Nickname''Venice of America''
Density5284.07/sq mi
Named forWilliam Lauderdale

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Broward County right now.

NWS active alerts (FL)Florida Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Broward County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Fort Lauderdale

79 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Nurmi Isles$4,651,302+1.4%
2Seven Isles$4,581,769+9.7%
3Bay Colony$4,493,209+5.7%
4Riviera Isles$3,583,922+2.6%
5Las Olas Isles$3,409,386+1.9%
6Lauderdale Harbours$2,012,995+9.2%
7Rio Vista$1,997,079+3.8%
8Harbor Beach$1,984,426-0.8%
9Bal Harbour$1,744,831+0.3%
10Lake Eden$1,727,042+0.7%
11Hendricks and Venice Isles$1,589,550-4.6%
12Birch Park Finger Sts.$1,496,851+5.0%
13Lake Estates$1,486,565-0.8%
14Dolphin Isles$1,425,037+3.7%
15Lauderdale Beach$1,420,876-2.1%
16Landings$1,148,574+0.3%
17Coral Ridge$1,134,389-1.0%
18Harbor Drive$1,056,609-4.6%
19Colee Hammock$978,294-0.2%
20Harbour Inlet$930,376+1.0%
21Beverly Heights$889,690-4.2%
22Bermuda Riviera$887,967-0.2%
23Victoria Park$806,422-0.6%
24Coral Shores$798,333-3.9%

See the full neighborhood ranking →

Cities like Fort Lauderdale

Coral Springs, FL54 · StableDavie, FL58 · StablePompano Beach, FL55 · StableBoynton Beach, FL53 · Stable

Run the numbers for Fort Lauderdale

ToolCan I afford Fort Lauderdale?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Fort Lauderdale rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Fort Lauderdale to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolFort Lauderdale cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
70° / 51°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
90° / 73°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
233
~64% of year
Annual precip
54″ rain
0″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very high
Tornado
Moderate
Wildfire
Low
Earthquake
Very low
Flood
Very high

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Fort Lauderdale listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
76%
Very humid climate
Median household income
$67,900
Florida state median
Top industries (state-level)
TourismHealthcareConstruction

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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