Roughly an hour from Orlando on Florida's east coast, Daytona Beach calls itself the World's Most Famous Beach, and between the sand you can literally drive on and the Daytona International Speedway, it has some claim to it. About 88,000 people live here. The whole year is organized around events: the Daytona 500 in February, Bike Week in March, spring break, and Biketoberfest in the fall.
A visit usually means a walk on the boardwalk and the Main Street Pier, a speedway tour, and a climb up the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse for a view of the coast. It is also easy to escape the crowds with a kayak on the Halifax River. Living here is cheaper than much of Florida, though insurance is costly, especially for condos. Race and bike weeks can get rowdy and clogged with traffic, and violent crime is above the national average in parts of town. Hurricanes are a real threat from June to November, and rip currents are common.
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- Known as
- The World's Most Famous Beach; World Center of Racing; Spring Break Capital of the World
- Founded
- 1870 settled; 1876 incorporated as Town of Daytona; 1926 merged into City of Daytona Beach
- Airports
- Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB), about 4 mi west of the beach, nonstop to Atlanta, Charlotte, New York area, and other hubs; Orlando International (MCO) about 60 mi; Orlando Sanford (SFB) about 45 mi; Jacksonville (JAX) about 90 mi
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20% for table service (check for added gratuity for large parties); bars $1-2 per drink; taxis and rideshare 10-15%; beach chair and umbrella attendants $2-5; hotel housekeeping $2-5 per night; valet $3-5
About this data
City population 88,471 is Census QuickFacts July 1 2025 estimate; MSA 746,933 (Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach) is Census July 1 2025 estimate via citypopulation.de; it is not shared with a larger city. Area 176.6 km2 is Wikipedia total including water (land area is 65.59 sq mi, about 170 km2). Elevation from Wikipedia. Coordinates are approximate downtown coordinates from general knowledge. Visitor site and events URL appeared in current search results with Bike Week 2027 dated March 5-14 and Biketoberfest October 15-18, 2026. Crime rate, prices, rents, hotel rates, tipping, cost-of-living index and the Coke Zero Sugar 400 date could not be verified in this session; treat as approximate. Data date: 2025-2026.
