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Opa-locka, Florida

Opa-locka is a suburb of about 16,200 people in Miami-Dade County, Florida, in the Miami area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 7.9 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 9 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Miami

Population
16,177
down 1.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$295,800
Miami-Dade County prices up 30% since 2022
Household income
$37,532
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Miami area
114.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Hialeah, FL
To Miami
9 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.2% above the U.S. average in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 7.9 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 Opa-locka 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 town13 public schools: 9 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byHialeah Hospital in Hialeah, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMiami is about 9 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 Opa-locka 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

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Opa-locka runs into the built-up area around Miami (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

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
$295,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 30%Miami-Dade County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,351 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$37,532U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
29%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,264 a yearFlorida: $2,730
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
114.2U.S. average = 100 (the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area)

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 30% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area, not Opa-locka 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
16,1772020: 16,382
Median age
34.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
8%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%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
Schools, health care and social services (17%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (13%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
32 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
30%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Hialeah Hospital, Hialeah, FL, about 4 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

13 public schools in Opa-locka, run by Miami-Dade.

Colleges in or next to town: St. Thomas University (5,000 to 9,999 students); Florida Memorial University (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
52%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
75%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
59°F
July average high
91°F
Days 90°F or hotter
100 a year
Nights at or below freezing
0 a year
Rain and melted snow
72.9 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
6 feet

Weather stations: Miami Opa Locka Ap (2 miles away) and Hialeah (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: Hialeah Hospital, Miami Gardens, Miami.

Miami-Dade County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

20 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Biscayne National Park16 miles
  • Everglades National Park18 miles
  • Big Cypress National Preserve36 miles

Campus life. Check St. Thomas University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Opa-locka's history on Wikipedia.

Know Opa-locka?

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

Smaller places

  • Fisher Island, FL (unincorporated)1,026 people, 12 miles

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.