Fort Lauderdale, Florida population is 188,677 as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate), ranking #141 nationally and #10 in Florida. Cost of living runs 14% above the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); a family of four needs roughly $105,075/yr to break even (2025 modeled). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
At a glance.
2025 population
188,677
-15 in the last year
Top 1% of 19,483 U.S. cities
Census Vintage 2025
Cost of living
RPP 114.2
+14% vs US
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro · BEA 2024
Family-of-4 budget
$105,075/yr
+31% vs US
Modeled 2025 · federal sources
Median HH income
$83,130
+7.0% vs US
ACS 2020–2024 5-yr
Median home value
$486,700
+60% vs US
ACS 2020–2024 5-yr
2-BR fair-market rent
$2,333/mo
HUD FY2026 · 40th pct
Avg July high
90°F
NOAA 1991–2020
Gigabit broadband
85%
ISP-reported, FCC BDC
How many people live in Fort Lauderdale?
188,677 people live in Fort Lauderdale as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025), the #141 largest U.S. city.
Source detail
2025 population
Source agency
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
Dataset
Census PEP
Vintage / period
Vintage 2025 (Jul 1, 2025)
Native geography
Census PEP subcounty place records for the included city universe.
Transformation
Copied from POPESTIMATE2025, joined by Census GEOID, and used for ranks, filters, and city pages.
Known limit: Annual estimate, not a decennial count; each new PEP vintage can revise the prior series.
Population grew 3.3% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 182,573 → 2025: 188,677 (+3.3%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
182,573
April 1, 2020
2020
182,726
July 1, 2020
2021
181,946
July 1, 2021
2022
184,908
July 1, 2022
2023
187,796
July 1, 2023
2024
188,692
July 1, 2024
2025
188,677
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 10.1% from 2010 to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
Fort Lauderdale is the #141 largest of 19,483 U.S. cities and #10 in Florida.
▸ Show the analyst detail (9 rows)
Measure
Value
Note
2020 base
182,573
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+6,104
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+3.3%
within V2025 only
1-yr change
-15
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
-0.0%
within V2025 only
Density
5,456
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
34.6
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#141
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#10
of 411 in Florida
What is the median household income in Fort Lauderdale?
Median household income is 7% above the U.S. median ($83,130 vs $77,719); 15.0% live in poverty — 2.5 points above the 12.5% U.S. rate.
Median household income$83,130
US
Fort Lauderdale: $83,130 — 7% above the US median of $77,719.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS income data
Fort Lauderdale
$83,130
United States
$77,719
Income and poverty estimates for Fort Lauderdale from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
83,130+7.0% vs US
±3,345
Per capita income
59,629+37.7% vs US
±2,520
Population in poverty
15.0%
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 60% above the U.S. median ($486,700 vs $303,400); median rent is 38% above ($1,854 vs $1,348); price-to-income ratio is 5.9×, making it 1.5× as cost-burdened as the typical U.S. city (3.9×).
Median home value$486,700
US
Fort Lauderdale: $486,700 — 60% above the US median of $303,400.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS home-value data
HUD 2-BR fair-market rent$2,333/mo
US
Fort Lauderdale: $2,333/mo — 117% above the US median of $1,077/mo.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with a HUD Fair Market Rent
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2024 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for Fort Lauderdale. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
3.3%
Fort Lauderdale (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
104,333
2024 annual avg
Worked from home
19.0%+35.9% vs US
share of workers 16+ commuting from home · U.S. median: 14% · ACS
County context — Fort Lauderdale sits in Broward County:
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Broward County
11.7%
$81,337
3.2%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from Fort Lauderdale's linked county in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2024 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Retail trade (44-45)
105,078
$894 / wk
#2
Health care and social assistance (62)
94,848
$1,283 / wk
#3
Accommodation and food services (72)
84,415
$649 / wk
#4
Administrative and waste services (56)
78,285
$1,100 / wk
#5
Professional and technical services (54)
64,859
$2,091 / wk
What workers earn in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). See methodology §25.
Retail Salespersons is the largest tracked occupation in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro (91,370 jobs, median $34,330/yr).
▸ Show all 13 occupations
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Customer Service Representatives
63,440
$39,560
$19.02
Office Clerks, General
61,160
$44,730
$21.51
Waiters and Waitresses
57,830
$36,070
$17.34
Fast Food and Counter Workers
56,900
$29,600
$14.23
Cashiers
56,340
$30,250
$14.54
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
48,860
$38,580
$18.55
Stockers and Order Fillers
45,270
$36,110
$17.36
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
91,370
$34,330
$16.50
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
74,960
$105,640
$50.79
Registered Nurses · benchmark
61,670
$91,380
$43.93
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
29,060
$51,580
$24.80
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run 14.2% above the U.S. average (RPP 114.2); rents run 55.6% above (RPP 155.6) — the metro's housing premium is the main driver.
Cost of living (RPP, all items)RPP 114.2
US
Fort Lauderdale's cost of living runs 14.2% above the U.S. average (RPP 114.2 vs 100).
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of metro/non-metro areas with a BEA price parity
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 114.2
+14.2% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$2,333/mo
FY2026 · Fort Lauderdale, FL HUD Metro FMR Area
State income tax (top marginal rate)
0%
no state income tax · TY2025
Family-of-four monthly budget total
$8,756/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources
Single-adult monthly budget total
$4,951/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources
Local income tax
—
not applicable in Florida · no modeled local income tax
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
27.0% foreign-born (U.S. median 14%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (17.7% of residents 5+).
A quick read on Fort Lauderdale's residents — nativity and languages spoken at home shown above, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. The full demographic breakdown (age, race and ethnicity, household types, and educational attainment, each with its margin of error) lives on the demographics page.
Hottest month: August (90°F avg high). Coldest: January (60°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 61.4 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for Fort Lauderdale from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
How safe is Fort Lauderdale from natural disasters?
Composite risk score: 99.5/100 — Relatively High nationally; top hazard: Lightning (100.0).
Natural-hazard exposure for Fort Lauderdale from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Broward County
99.5
Relatively High
Lightning 100.0 Very High · Hurricane 99.8 Very High · Riverine Flooding 99.4 Very High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0 · methodology →
How fast is home internet in Fort Lauderdale?
14 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 85% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for Fort Lauderdale from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of June 30, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
14 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
12
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
85.0%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
85.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
120,267
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of June 30, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
Fort Lauderdale sits at state rank #10 among 411 cities in Florida. Nearby in the state ranking:
Just above in the profiled set: Clarksville, TN · #140 · 188,829 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: Glendale, CA · #142 · 187,160 residents.
Quick travel facts for Fort Lauderdale
Quick travel facts.
Nearest commercial airport
Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport(FLL) ·
5 mi 8 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Jan, Feb, Dec · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP) · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (FAA-aligned, type=large/medium, scheduled_service=yes) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Frequently asked questions about Fort Lauderdale.
How many people live in Fort Lauderdale, FL?
Fort Lauderdale has 188,677 residents as of July 1, 2025, making it the #141 largest city in the United States and #10 in Florida. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
Is Fort Lauderdale growing or shrinking?
Fort Lauderdale has grown 3.3% since the April 2020 census baseline, adding 6,104 residents. The most recent year ticked down slightly (−15 residents, −0.0% from 2024 to 2025). Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
What was Fort Lauderdale's population in the 2020 census?
The GEOID for Fort Lauderdale is 1224000. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page. The headline population value above includes a source-detail disclosure with publisher, dataset, vintage, native geography, transformation, and caveat.
