Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Florida

Key West, Florida

Key West is a small town of about 25,000 people in Monroe County, Florida. It's the county seat. It has lost about 5% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 9.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Miami, is about 129 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
24,999
down 5.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$852,400
Monroe County prices up 13% since 2022
Household income
$87,037
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Florida
94
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
2 miles
Key West, FL
To Miami
129 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6% below the U.S. average in the parts of Florida outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 9.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Key West itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town8 public schools: 5 elementary and 3 high schools.
  • A hospital close byLower Keys Medical Center in Key West, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMiami is about 129 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Key West meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Worth a closer look

Key West has lost about 5% of its people since 2020. A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$852,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 13%Monroe County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,220 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$87,037U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
49%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,442 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940
20%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
15%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
94U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Florida outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 13% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Florida outside metro areas, not Key West alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
24,9992020: 26,364
Median age
46.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
15%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
41%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (26%); schools, health care and social services (14%); professional and business services (9%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
15 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
11%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Lower Keys Medical Center, Key West, FL, about 2 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

8 public schools in Key West, run by Monroe.

Colleges in or next to town: The College of the Florida Keys (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Florida's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
76%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
90%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
63°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
54 a year
Nights at or below freezing
0 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.6 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
5 feet

Weather stations: Key W Wfo (1 mile away) and Key West Nas (6 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Lower Keys Medical Center, Homestead, Miami.

Monroe County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

21 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Ernest Hemingway House, Fort Zachary Taylor, HA. 19 (Japanese Midget Submarine) and INGHAM (USCGC). Three are National Historic Landmarks, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Everglades National Park56 miles

Campus life. Check The College of the Florida Keys's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Key West's history on Wikipedia.

Know Key West?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.