With coastal states like Florida, North Carolina and Maine among the most popular places people relocated to last year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021’s Best Beach Towns to Live in, as well as accompanying videos.
To determine the most livable beachside communities, WalletHub compared 191 cities across 62 key metrics. The data set ranges from housing costs to share of for-sale waterfront homes to quality of beach water.
Our study divides beach towns into two categories, those by the ocean and those by lakes.
| Top 10 Ocean Beach Towns | Top 10 Lake Beach Towns |
| 1. Naples, FL | 1. Traverse City, MI |
| 2. Laguna Beach, CA | 2. Folsom, CA |
| 3. Lahaina, HI | 3. Redmond, WA |
| 4. Newport Beach, CA | 4. Mercer Island, WA |
| 5. North Myrtle Beach, SC | 5. Cornelius, NC |
| 6. Sarasota, FL | 6. Davidson, NC |
| 7. Kailua, HI | 7. Kirkland, WA |
| 8. Boca Raton, FL | 8. South Lake Tahoe, CA |
| 9. Destin, FL | 9. Highland Park, IL |
| 10. Santa Monica, CA | 10. Brookfield, WI |
Best vs. Worst
Ocean Beach Cities
- Port Lavaca, Texas, has the lowest median home price as a share of income, 1.85, which is 8.1 times lower than in Newport Beach, California, the city with the highest at 14.93.
- Waianae, Hawaii, has the lowest median annual property taxes, 0.17 percent, which is 17.8 times lower than in Shirley, New York, the city with the highest at 3.02 percent.
- Miami Beach, Coral Gables and Key Biscayne, Florida, as well as Port Royal, South Carolina, all share the fewest disaster declarations (since 1953), 16, which is 4.8 times fewer than in Santa Monica, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Palos Verdes Estates and Malibu, California, the cities with the most at 76.
- Rye, New York, has the fewest property crimes per 1,000 residents, 0.95, which is 118 times lower than in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the city with the most at 112.34.
Lake Beach Cities
- Alpena, Michigan, has the lowest median home price as a share of income, 1.86, which is 4.4 times lower than in Mercer Island, Washington, the city with the highest at 8.26.
- Morgan City, Louisiana, has the lowest median annual property taxes, 0.28 percent, which is 13.4 times lower than in Zion, Illinois, the city with the highest at 3.76 percent.
- Traverse City and Alpena, Michigan, have the fewest disaster declarations (since 1953), five each, which is 12 times fewer than in Lake Elsinore, California, the city with the most at 60.
- Rocky River, Ohio, has the fewest property crimes per 1,000 residents, 3.21, which is 31.3 times lower than in Branson, Missouri, the city with the most at 100.36.
