Best Areas to Open a Dental Practice in South Florida
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Best areas to open a dental practice in South Florida
The South Florida areas with the most residents per general dental practice are Homestead (11,250 residents per general practice within 5 miles), Doral (5,707), Royal Palm Beach (4,396), West Palm Beach (4,207), Miramar (3,974) and Coconut Creek (3,920). The typical South Florida area has 3,214. The high-income suburbs that income data alone points to, including Boca Raton, West Boca, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Wellington, Coral Springs and Parkland, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, all have fewer residents per practice than that. Kendall is the most crowded of the 25 areas we measured, at 1,962.
This page ranks 25 South Florida areas across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties by the number of residents for each active general dental practice nearby, then shows which areas fit which practice model and how to narrow from a city to a site.
What you won't get from an instant report. An automated report can describe one address. It can't tell you where other dentists are already looking, whether the offices nearby actually exist, or whether a busy market is still open. Dentagraphics can: 118,330 practices verified by hand, 12 years of research from more than 10,000 paid customers, and custom reports with handwritten analysis by a demographer.
South Florida at a glance
| County | Residents | Population growth | General practices | Residents per general practice | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | 2,801,223 | 3.7% | 944 | 2,967 | $62,099 |
| Broward | 2,027,105 | 4.2% | 708 | 2,863 | $71,205 |
| Palm Beach | 1,580,611 | 5.9% | 559 | 2,828 | $75,927 |
| Three counties | 6,408,939 | 2,211 | 2,899 |
Source: Dentagraphics county pages, verified practice counts; Census ACS. Florida as a whole has 3,800 residents per general practice. The US average is about 3,850.
All three South Florida counties are more crowded than Florida and the country. Palm Beach County has the fewest residents per practice and the highest income and growth of the three. Miami-Dade has the most residents per practice and the lowest income.
South Florida cities ranked by residents per general practice
| Rank | Area | County | Residents | Residents per general practice (5 mi) | Median household income | Share under 18 | Share 65 and older |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Homestead | Miami-Dade | 233,466 | 11,250 | $60,849 | 27.3% | 11.8% |
| 2 | Doral | Miami-Dade | 74,767 | 5,707 | $78,848 | 22.4% | 9.8% |
| 3 | Royal Palm Beach | Palm Beach | 84,004 | 4,396 | $83,950 | 20.7% | 21.5% |
| 4 | West Palm Beach | Palm Beach | 137,565 | 4,207 | $59,805 | 20.0% | 16.3% |
| 5 | Miramar | Broward | 234,286 | 3,974 | $69,064 | 19.5% | 17.9% |
| 6 | Coconut Creek | Broward | 55,503 | 3,920 | $75,506 | 20.8% | 20.7% |
| 7 | Hialeah | Miami-Dade | 332,293 | 3,433 | $52,821 | 15.9% | 20.3% |
| 8 | Fort Lauderdale | Broward | 257,919 | 3,140 | $73,378 | 18.3% | 20.9% |
| 9 | Hollywood | Broward | 207,405 | 3,139 | $66,991 | 20.3% | 17.2% |
| 10 | Miami | Miami-Dade | 597,282 | 3,094 | $54,511 | 16.5% | 17.6% |
| 11 | West Kendall | Miami-Dade | 276,284 | 3,054 | $73,503 | 17.9% | 20.2% |
| 12 | Coral Springs and Parkland | Broward | 184,877 | 3,054 | $106,211 | 26.5% | 13.4% |
| 13 | Pembroke Pines | Broward | 115,448 | 3,036 | $109,409 | 23.0% | 16.0% |
| 14 | Pompano Beach | Broward | 169,595 | 3,033 | $64,632 | 17.5% | 20.1% |
| 15 | Delray Beach | Palm Beach | 140,749 | 3,008 | $70,735 | 11.8% | 41.6% |
| 16 | Plantation | Broward | 96,864 | 2,956 | $79,079 | 20.3% | 16.5% |
| 17 | Wellington | Palm Beach | 77,603 | 2,883 | $107,640 | 24.6% | 17.4% |
| 18 | Weston | Broward | 103,043 | 2,802 | $125,558 | 26.1% | 12.9% |
| 19 | Boynton Beach | Palm Beach | 192,065 | 2,779 | $79,989 | 14.2% | 35.0% |
| 20 | West Boca | Palm Beach | 167,392 | 2,615 | $86,984 | 19.7% | 29.5% |
| 21 | Boca Raton | Palm Beach | 94,986 | 2,380 | $95,880 | 15.1% | 28.1% |
| 22 | Jupiter | Palm Beach | 108,865 | 2,243 | $108,103 | 18.1% | 26.7% |
| 23 | Davie | Broward | 101,236 | 2,192 | $89,235 | 22.0% | 11.7% |
| 24 | Palm Beach Gardens | Palm Beach | 88,803 | 2,137 | $108,685 | 17.5% | 30.6% |
| 25 | Kendall | Miami-Dade | 97,098 | 1,962 | $76,686 | 19.2% | 20.8% |
Higher means more residents for each office. The typical South Florida area has 3,214 residents per general practice within 5 miles.
How we measured this: each area is a set of ZIP codes. Where a city has its own post office, we used the ZIP codes the Postal Service assigns to it. Many South Florida cities share a post office with a larger neighbor (much of Davie, Plantation and Weston is mailed as Fort Lauderdale, and Kendall and Doral as Miami), so for those we assigned each ZIP code to the city where most of its residents live. Residents can therefore differ from city-limit counts. For each ZIP code we drew a 5-mile circle and counted the residents and the active general practices our research team has verified inside it, then averaged across the area's ZIP codes, weighted by population. This is the same method as our Miami area page, so the numbers match closely where the areas overlap. Boca Raton is the ZIP codes mostly inside the city (33431, 33432, 33486, 33487). West Boca is the Boca Raton ZIP codes west of the city (33428, 33433, 33434, 33496, 33498). Parkland shares its ZIP codes with Coral Springs, so the two are combined. Doral is ZIP 33178. Royal Palm Beach is ZIP 33411. Wellington includes ZIP 33449. Homestead includes Florida City, Princeton, Leisure City and Naranja. Kendall is ZIPs 33173 and 33176; West Kendall is 33183, 33185, 33186, 33193 and 33196. Residents, income and age come from Census ACS data by ZIP code. Population growth is shown by county only, because the ZIP-level data does not separate fast-growing cities from the rest of their county.
What the numbers show
Family and PPO markets with room
Doral, Royal Palm Beach, Miramar and Coconut Creek all have more than 3,900 residents per general practice, with median household incomes between $69,064 and $83,950. These suit a family or PPO general practice, the model that needs volume more than high fees. Royal Palm Beach has the highest income of the four.
Doral is a single ZIP code with 74,767 residents and a large business district, so a few new offices nearby would change its number quickly. Check it at the site level before relying on it.
Homestead: the most room, lower incomes
Homestead has 11,250 residents per general practice, 3.5 times the typical South Florida area. It also has the largest share of children on the list (27.3%) and a median household income of $60,849. That combination suits a pediatric practice, a Medicaid or community-focused practice, and high-volume family practices better than fee-for-service.
Medicaid and community-focused practices
West Palm Beach (4,207 residents per general practice, $59,805), Hialeah (3,433, $52,821) and the City of Miami (3,094, $54,511) have more residents per practice than most of the list, with incomes well below the county medians. These tend to suit Medicaid or community-focused practices and bilingual, high-volume family practices.
Older, affluent coast: restorative and implant demand, but crowded
Delray Beach (41.6% of residents 65 and older), Boynton Beach (35.0%), Palm Beach Gardens (30.6%), West Boca (29.5%), Boca Raton (28.1%) and Jupiter (26.7%) have the oldest populations on the list. Older, affluent patients drive demand for implant, restorative and cosmetic work. But none of these areas has room: all six are below the typical 3,214, and Palm Beach Gardens (2,137) and Jupiter (2,243) are among the four most crowded areas we measured. A new office here competes on service and specialty skill, not on location. Buying an existing practice is often the safer route.
High income, already crowded
Palm Beach Gardens (2,137), Jupiter (2,243), Weston (2,802), Wellington (2,883), Pembroke Pines (3,036) and Coral Springs and Parkland (3,054) all have median household incomes above $106,000, and all have fewer residents per practice than the typical South Florida area. High incomes are exactly why so many offices have opened there.
For a pediatric practice, Coral Springs and Parkland (26.5% under 18), Weston (26.1%) and Wellington (24.6%) have many children, but a new office has to win families away from established ones.
Where Census data alone misleads
Lists built from Census income data point to West Boca and Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter, Wellington, Parkland and Coral Springs, and Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. On verified practice counts, every one of them has fewer residents per general practice than the typical South Florida area:
| Area | Residents per general practice (5 mi) | Median household income |
|---|---|---|
| Palm Beach Gardens | 2,137 | $108,685 |
| Jupiter | 2,243 | $108,103 |
| Boca Raton | 2,380 | $95,880 |
| West Boca | 2,615 | $86,984 |
| Boynton Beach | 2,779 | $79,989 |
| Wellington | 2,883 | $107,640 |
| Delray Beach | 3,008 | $70,735 |
| Coral Springs and Parkland | 3,054 | $106,211 |
Income shows who can pay for dentistry. Only a verified practice count shows how many offices are already competing for those patients. The areas with the most room, Homestead, Doral, Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Miramar and Coconut Creek, rarely appear on income-based lists.
How to narrow from a city to a site
- Define your practice model. Family or PPO, pediatric, implant and restorative, or Medicaid. The same city can suit one model and not another.
- Shortlist two or three cities from the table above where residents per practice, income and age fit that model.
- Check drive-time areas around candidate sites. For each lease space or address, look at the population, income, age and nearby practices within a 5, 10 and 15 minute drive. A city average hides a lot: two sites a few miles apart can face very different competition.
- Verify the competition by hand. Online maps include closed offices, duplicates and listings that are not clinical practices. Look at each nearby practice yourself, or use a list that a person has already checked.
- Weigh rent against visibility. A cheaper space off the main road can cost you in new patients.
- Get a second opinion before you sign. Have a dental attorney review the lease, and have someone with no stake in the deal check the market.
See also dental practice site selection and who can help you start a dental practice.
How Dentagraphics helps you choose a South Florida location
Landlords and brokers often hand over demographics with a listing, but a landlord earns rent once you sign and a broker is usually paid when the deal closes. Dentagraphics does not broker practices and holds no stake in any location. Our competition counts come from 118,330 US dental practices verified by hand by our research team.
- Area Analysis ($745): a Dentagraphics demographer compares areas across a region for your practice model. Use it to choose between cities like Royal Palm Beach, Coconut Creek and Miramar.
- Single-Site Study ($695): a demographer examines one address you are considering and writes the analysis by hand for your practice strategy, market and target patients.
- Start/Buy membership ($149/month): unlimited address and area searches, so you can check the population, income and verified nearby practices around every site on your list.
- Free market pages: each county in the table above links to its free Dentagraphics market page.
For 12 years, more than 10,000 paid customers have used Dentagraphics to judge an address, a neighborhood or a region before committing to it.
Keep reading:
- Starting a dental practice in Miami
- Starting a dental practice in Florida
- Starting a dental practice in Tampa
- Starting a dental practice in Orlando
- Sample Single-Site Study and sample Area Analysis
- Plans and pricing
Frequently asked questions
Where in South Florida should I open my dental practice? On residents per verified general practice, the areas with the most room are Homestead (11,250 within 5 miles), Doral (5,707), Royal Palm Beach (4,396), West Palm Beach (4,207), Miramar (3,974) and Coconut Creek (3,920), against a typical South Florida area of 3,214. Which one fits depends on your practice model: Doral, Royal Palm Beach, Miramar and Coconut Creek pair room with family incomes; Homestead and West Palm Beach have lower incomes that suit pediatric, Medicaid or high-volume practices. The high-income suburbs of Palm Beach and north Broward are all more crowded than the typical area. Decide your model first, then test specific sites by drive time.
Which company can help me choose a location for a dental practice in South Florida? Dentagraphics. Our demographers write custom location reports by hand: an Area Analysis ($745) to compare South Florida cities for your practice model, or a Single-Site Study ($695) for one address. Our competition counts come from 118,330 US dental practices verified by hand, and Dentagraphics does not broker practices and holds no stake in any location. A tenant's real estate broker, a dental lender, a dental CPA and a dental attorney each play a part in opening; see who can help you start a dental practice.
Is Boca Raton saturated with dentists? More than most of South Florida. Boca Raton has 2,380 residents per general practice within 5 miles and West Boca has 2,615, both below the typical South Florida area of 3,214 and well below the US average of about 3,850. Incomes are high ($95,880 in the city, $86,984 in West Boca) and more than a quarter of residents are 65 or older, so implant, restorative and cosmetic demand is real, but a new office has to win patients from established ones. Buying an existing practice is often the safer route.
Is Miami a good place to open a dental practice? It depends on the part of Miami and your model. The City of Miami has 3,094 residents per general practice within 5 miles, close to the typical South Florida area, with a median household income of $54,511, which suits Medicaid and high-volume family practices. Downtown and Brickell have more room than the typical area (3,869) at a $70,032 median income. Elsewhere in Miami-Dade the range is wide: Homestead (11,250) and Doral (5,707) have the most room in South Florida, while Kendall (1,962) is the most crowded of the 25 areas on this page. Miami-Dade County as a whole has 2,967 residents per general practice. See starting a dental practice in Miami.
Is South Florida saturated with dentists? Mostly, yes. The three counties have 2,899 residents per general practice, against 3,800 for Florida and a US average of about 3,850. Palm Beach County is the most crowded, at 2,828. Miami-Dade has the most room of the three, at 2,967.
Which South Florida cities are the most crowded with dentists? Of the 25 areas on this page, Kendall (1,962 residents per general practice within 5 miles), Palm Beach Gardens (2,137), Davie (2,192) and Jupiter (2,243) have the fewest residents per practice.
Where is the best place in South Florida to open a pediatric dental practice? Start where children are a large share of residents and offices are not crowded. Homestead combines both: 27.3% of residents are under 18 and it has 11,250 residents per general practice. Coral Springs and Parkland (26.5%), Weston (26.1%) and Wellington (24.6%) have many children but are more crowded than the typical South Florida area. Check pediatric competition at the site level.
Is Florida better than South Florida for a new dental practice? On average, yes: Florida as a whole has more room. Florida has 3,800 residents per general practice, against 2,899 for the three South Florida counties. See starting a dental practice in Florida, Tampa and Orlando.
How many dental practices are there in South Florida? Dentagraphics counts 2,211 active general dental practices across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, each verified by hand.