New Study Ranks Naples as 2019's Best Beach Town to Live In

Text or Call Janet Berry at 239-450-1892 to Eliminate All The Confusion About Buying a Home in The Best Beach Town, Naples Florida!

Living by the beach is the ultimate dream for many Americans. After all, beachside communities often represent a relaxed and luxurious way of life. But few realize their dream of living by the water, precisely because of the misconception that beach towns are relatively more expensive and generally less livable than landlocked cities.

Contrary to popular belief, however, many beach towns are suitable to everyday life — and easy on the wallet. So in order to determine the beach communities that are ideal for making one’s permanent home, WalletHub compared 192 cities across 62 key indicators of livability. We split our comparison into two categories, towns located by the ocean and by lakes. Our data set ranges from housing costs to share of for-sale waterfront homes to quality of beach water.

Source: WalletHub

Methodology

In order to determine the best beach towns in America, WalletHub compared 192 cities across six key dimensions: 1) Affordability, 2) Weather, 3) Safety, 4) Economy, 5) Education & Health and 6) Quality of Life, splitting the sample into ocean towns and lake towns.

We evaluated those dimensions using 62 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for beach-town living.

Finally, we determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Our sample includes all cities with populations between 10,000 and 150,000 and at least one beach listed on TripAdvisor. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), the square root of the population was used to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across cities.

Affordability – Total Points: 14

• Housing Costs: Double Weight (~3.50 Points)
  Note: This is a composite metric calculated as follows:
  a) Median House Price / Median Household Income
  b) Median Rent Price / Median Household Income
  

• Median Household Income: Full Weight (~1.75 Points)
  Note: This metric was adjusted for the cost of living.

• Median Property Taxes: Full Weight (~1.75 Points)
  Note: This metric was calculated as follows: Median Real Estate Tax / Median House Price.

• Average Flood Insurance Premium: Full Weight (~1.75 Points)

• Share of For-Sale Waterfront Homes: Full Weight (~1.75 Points)

• Share of For-Sale Homes with RV/Boat Parking: Full Weight (~1.75 Points)

• Share of For-Sale Homes with Swimming Pools: Full Weight (~1.75 Points)

Weather – Total Points: 14

• Weather: Full Weight (~2.33 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “Cities with the Best & Worst Weather” ranking.

• Water Temperature: Full Weight (~2.33 Points)

• Number of Disasters (Since 1953): Full Weight (~2.33 Points)

• Total Disaster Grants Provided per Capita: Full Weight (~2.33 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on FEMA’s Disaster Housing Assistance data visualization, which shows data from both FEMA’s Individual and Household Program and the Small Business Administration’s Disaster Home Loan Program.

• Flood Risk Level: Full Weight (~2.33 Points)

• Hurricane Storm Surge Risk Level: Full Weight (~2.33 Points)

Safety – Total Points: 14

• Violent Crime Rate: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)

• Property Crime Rate: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)

• Walkability: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)

• Lifeguards per Capita: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)

Economy – Total Points: 14

• Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)

• Share of Population Living in Poverty: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)

• Population Growth Rate: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)

• Income Growth Rate: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)

• Median Credit Score: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)

• Foreclosure Rate: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)

• Share of People who Had a Bankruptcy in the Past Year: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)

Education & Health – Total Points: 14

• Quality of School System: Triple Weight (~4.20 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on the share of public schools with above average GreatSchools.org rating.

• Share of Insured Population: Full Weight (~1.40 Points)

• Quality of Public Hospital System: Full Weight (~1.40 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ ranking of public hospital systems.

• Share of Adults in Poor or Fair Health: Full Weight (~1.40 Points)

• Limited Access to Healthy Foods: Full Weight (~1.40 Points)
  Note: Limited Access to Healthy Foods is the share of the population that is low income and does not live close to a grocery store.

• Quality of Air: Full Weight (~1.40 Points)

• Quality of Drinking Water: Full Weight (~1.40 Points)

• Quality of Beach Water: Full Weight (~1.40 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the percentage of received beach-water samples that exceed the Beach Action Value (BAV). BAV is the marine recreational water quality standard used to determine whether bacteria levels are unsafe for water contact. When a single marine water sample has bacteria levels at or above the BAV, a health advisory is issued. Once a health advisory is issued, beach visitors are instructed to avoid water contact until the health advisory is lifted.

Quality of Life – Total Points: 30

• Average Commute Time: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Average Weekly Work Hours: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Number of Attractions: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Diversity of Attractions: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Nightlife Establishments per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Presence on TripAdvisor’s “Top 25 Beaches” Ranking: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Restaurants per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Music Venues per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Breweries per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Festivals per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Coffee Shops per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Cinemas per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Shops per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Swimming Pools per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Public Beaches per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Boat Tours & Water Sports per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Surfing Spots per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Amusement Parks per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Water Parks per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Presence on TripAdvisor’s “Top 25 Water Parks” List: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the presence or absence of a city on TripAdvisor’s “Top 25 Water Parks” List.

• Parks per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Bike Score: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Running Trails per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Walking Trails per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Fitness Centers per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Golf Courses per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Tennis Courts per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Beach Volleyball Courts per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Shopping Centers per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)

• Spas per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.00 Points)