We recently prepared a comprehensive report of the 15 Safest Cities To Live in Florida. In this free report, we have discussed each city in detail. Click here to see the free report.
With a population of over 22.6 million residents as of 2023, Florida, known as the Sunshine State, is the second fastest-growing state in the United States, having grown at a rate of 5% since 2020. In fact, out of the top 5 fastest-growing metro areas in the US, four are situated in Florida, including Wildwood – The Villages, which is the retiree’s paradise with 85.9% of residents aged 65 years and over (See: 25 Safest and Cheapest Cities To Retire in Florida).
According to 2022 FBI data, Florida is considered one of the safest states to live in the US, with a violent safety incident rate of 258.9 per 100,000 inhabitants. This represents a decrease from the FBI’s 2019 data, which reported a violent safety incident rate of 378.4 per 100,000 inhabitants in Florida. As of 2022, the safety incident rate in Florida is lower than the national average of 380.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, which makes it the 11th safest state in the US overall.
Consequently, many Floridians feel safe living in the Sunshine State. A related community survey of the state’s Orange County in 2023 showed that about two-thirds of the county residents feel safe living in their community. While violent safety incidents are not much of a concern for the Floridians, its hurricane-prone weather is a real threat to the residents.
Hurricanes and Their Impact on the Florida Economy
According to the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), hurricanes can form on the ocean surface if the surface water reaches a temperature of at least 80° Fahrenheit and there is a weather disturbance, such as a thunderstorm.
Unfortunately, living in Florida comes with a high risk of hurricanes, especially for those residing close to the coast. Florida beaches on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, reach an average temperature of above 80 °F (27 °C) throughout summer.
According to NOAA, there is a prediction of above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin in 2024. From June 1 to November 30, there is an 85% chance of an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season, a 10% chance of near-normal season, and a 5% chance of a below-normal season.
With the above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin, Florida has the highest vulnerability in the US, with a 75% chance of a hurricane and a 44% chance of a major hurricane. While most of Florida is prone to extreme weather threats like hurricanes, Ocala in central Florida is safest from hurricanes, with just 73 documented hurricanes since the 1930s (See: 15 Best Places to Retire in Florida Without Hurricanes).
On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian hit Florida’s Gulf Coast and brought heavy rains and 150 mph winds, resulting in catastrophic economic loss and significantly impacting residents across the state. According to the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the aftermath of Hurricane Ian left more than 2.6 million residents without power and about $12.6 billion in losses to insurance companies.
Hurricanes are the number one reason why insurance companies struggle in Florida. Some key players in the insurance industry, such as Allstate Corp (NYSE:ALL) and Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR) suffered heavy losses due to these weather disasters.
Allstate Corp (NYSE:ALL), a US primary insurer, incurred a loss of $763 million, pre-tax in the third quarter of 2022 mainly because of Hurricane Ian. The gross catastrophe losses from Hurricane Ian, excluding National Flood Insurance Program losses, amounted to $671 million pre-tax. Allstate Corp (NYSE:ALL) anticipated that this total would be reduced by $305 million, or 45%, through reinsurance recoveries, resulting in a net estimated loss of $366 million. Overall, in the net of reinsurance, Hurricane Ian caused a loss of $348 million, which accounted for 80% of the total loss in the month.
Meanwhile, Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR), one of the largest American property and auto-focused insurance companies, estimated a loss and allocated loss adjustment expenses (ALAE) of $1 billion for the catastrophic hurricane Ian. Out of which, Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR) estimated vehicle losses of $585 million, which included boats and recreational vehicles. However, the firm’s reinsurance recovery was $800 million.
Now that above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin is posing threats to Florida in 2024 as well, insurance companies are preparing themselves for the challenge.
On the other hand, companies like NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE) are thriving in the state. NextEra Inc owns the Florida Power & Light Company, and might see a rise in its shares like last year when it was up by 0.154%. In August 2023, when Hurricane Idalia landed as a major hurricane in Florida, NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE) was one of the companies involved in the power restoration of Southwest Florida and the hardest-hit areas of North Florida in the aftermath of the hurricane. By September 2023, NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE) restored power for 98% of customers affected by Hurricane Idalia.
Pixabay/Public Domain
Our Methodology
For our list of the safest cities to live in Florida, we have utilized the latest available FBI UCR statistics for the state. From this report, we extracted the number of safety incidents within each city of Florida, and then using the population totals provided within the same report, we calculated the per capita safety incidents in each of the cities. To assess the risk of hurricanes by city, we have used HomeFact’s data for the number of Hurricanes recorded per city since 1930.
Lastly, to map out the 15 safest cities to live in Florida, we shortlisted the cities with the lowest number of per capita safety incidents and lowest risk of hurricanes. To do this, we assigned a weight of 70% to safety incidents and 30% to hurricane risk and calculated the weighted averages. The list is ranked in an ascending order. Note that the population counts mentioned in our list have been sourced from the FBI’s UCR and all other statistics have been sourced from the Census Bureau. Also, our list of the top 15 safest cities in Florida does not include towns and villages.
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The Safest City To Live in Florida
1. Parkland
Number of Safety Incidents Per Capita: 0.005
Number of Hurricanes Recorded since 1930: 83
With a population of 35,244 individuals according to UCR, Parkland reported a total of 198 safety incidents rate in 2019 and only 83 hurricanes in a span of 94 years, which demonstrates exactly why it ranks as the #1 safest city in Florida. Parkland city has a total of 11,424 housing units, 10,408 households, and an employment rate of 61.2%.
Although Parkland ranked 1st on our list, it only outranked #2nd safest city in Florida with a slight margin. To find out more, please check out the full free list by visiting 15 Safest Cities To Live in Florida.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published on Insider Monkey.