Look down any canal and you will see why Fort Lauderdale is called the Venice of America, a South Florida city of about 190,000 people lined with yachts. It sits inside a metro area of more than six million, roughly 30 miles north of Miami, so the city itself feels smaller than it is. The boating world is real here, and the annual boat show in the fall is a huge event.
The beach and its Promenade are the obvious draws, while Las Olas Boulevard has the shops and restaurants, and water taxis run along the New River. Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is a quiet green escape, Everglades airboat tours leave from nearby, and Port Everglades is a major cruise port. Wilton Manors is the lively, welcoming neighborhood to the north. Living here is expensive, and condo costs have jumped because of insurance and repair assessments. Crime is worst in parts of the northwest and near some late-night beach spots. Hurricane season runs June to November, flooding and king tides are real, and the heat is intense most of the year.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
Out of 10. Open any score to see how it’s worked out. “Data-based” scores come from published figures; “Hey! En Route estimate” scores are worked out from what we know about the city; “Hey! En Route rating” scores were set by our editors.
- Known as
- Venice of America; Yachting Capital of the World; Fort Liquordale (spring break, dated)
- Founded
- 1838 fort established; 1911 incorporated
- Languages
- English; Spanish; Haitian Creole; Portuguese; French
- Airports
- Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL) about 3 mi from downtown; Miami International (MIA) about 28 mi south; Palm Beach International (PBI) about 45 mi north
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20% (check for auto-gratuity added for groups of 6 or more); bars $1-2 per drink; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; valet $3-5; rideshare 10-20%; boat tour crews 15-20%
About this data
Population from Census QuickFacts V2025 (188,677); metro figure (6,391,072) is the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach MSA shared with Miami and West Palm Beach (FRED/Census 2025); area converted from 34.59 sq mi land; crime rate unverified; home price from Redfin dated Feb 2025 (stale), so current median likely differs; elevation, coordinates, cost of living, hotel ranges approximate
