CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

29.17° N · 81.01° W · GEOID 1267325

South Daytona

Volusia County, Florida · part of the Deltona, FL metro

FloridaSouth Daytona, FLSouth DaytonaSouth Daytona

The short answer

South Daytona is home to 13,543 people. Median household income is $56,579 a year and median rent is $1,379 a month, 29.2% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is moderate. The median home is valued at $222,200, about 3.9x annual median household income.

South Daytona is defined by its growth. The population grew 8.2% since 2020, faster than in 80% of places its size. So far it looks sustainable: pay is keeping up with rent, home prices have tracked incomes and there is some slack in the housing stock. Also notable: After the median rent, with other prices set to the US average, the median household keeps about $41,000 a year, less than in 91% of places its size.

35OF 100

CTXCitytistics Index

Below average

South Daytona scores better than 35% of the 6,612 places we rate, and ranks 184th of 474 in Florida.

How the CTX is built

Category ratings · 0 to 100, typical place 50

Affordability 20%26
Economy 20%36
Safety 20%n/a
Amenities 15%51
Education 10%34
Commute 10%76
Growth 5%90

Not rated: safety, for want of data (the city police department does not report a full year to the FBI). The other weights are spread over the categories rated.

Median gross rent
$1,379
1% above the median place
Median household income
$56,579
30% below the median place
Median home value
$222,200
30% below the median place
Unemployment
4.8%
1% below the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about South Daytona

  • AffordabilityThe median rent takes 29.2% of the median household's income, a bigger share than in 94% of the 2,301 places of 10,000 to 25,000 people we track.
01

Moving to South Daytona

Volusia County gains about 18.1 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in33,913
Moved out25,878
Net+8,035

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Within Florida, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within FloridaOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$73K
Leavers$57K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Volusia County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
6.1% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 3.1% from another state.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Volusia County report $72,800 a year in income on average; those leaving, $57,200, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
Income you would need
$55,200 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,379 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,461 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $222,200.
Getting to work
21 minutes each way on average; 11.7% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Brooksville, FL matches it on character for less of your income. Compare the two
Moved from another state1
3.1%
55% above the median place
Moved here in the past year1
6.1%
7% above the median place
Net movers per 1,000 people8
18.1
above the median place (median -0.6)
All 5 moving measures
MeasureSouth DaytonaAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year16.1%7% above
Moved from another state13.1%55% above
Net movers per 1,000 people8County figure18.1above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in8County figure$72,8133% above
Income of households moving out8County figure$57,21519% below
02

What it costs to live here

Owning with a mortgage costs only about $82 a month more than the median rent, a smaller gap than in 92% of the 2,298 places of 10,000 to 25,000 people we track.

South Daytona29.2%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$55,160
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
29.2%
43% above the median place
Home price to income
3.9x
3% above the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
29%
just under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$41,500
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in South Daytona, $1,379 a month, and local prices for everything else (97.5 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like South Daytona, but easier on the budget

Places that match South Daytona on character (size, age, education, homeownership, household size, housing age, remote work and climate) but where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income. Cost was left out of the match on purpose.

PlaceMatchRent to incomeMore left a year
Brooksville, FL9824.8% vs 29.2%$2,100Compare
Cocoa, FL9524.2% vs 29.2%$7,900Compare
Orange Park, FL9322.2% vs 29.2%$20,500Compare
Jackson, CA9324.4% vs 29.2%n/aCompare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in South Daytona.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to South Daytona? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Vacant homes1
13.0%
85% above the median place
Property tax paid (median)1
$1,631
50% below the median place
Renters paying 30%+1
58.8%
16% above the median place
All 16 cost and housing measures
MeasureSouth DaytonaAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,3791% above
Rent to income129.2%43% above
Property tax rate10.7%20% below
Home price to income13.9x3% above
Prices vs US average2Metro figure99.42% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$1,6734% above
HUD area median income4County figure$90,80015% below
Property tax paid (median)1$1,63150% below
Median home value1$222,20030% below
Home prices, 1-year change5County figure-1.0%below (median 3.2%)
Home prices, 5-year change5County figure55.5%8% above
Homeownership164.1%3% below
Renters paying 30%+158.8%16% above
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,46122% below
Vacant homes113.0%85% above
Median year built119760% below
03

Work and pay

Median household income is $56,579, 30% below the median place.

Median household income1
$56,579
30% below the median place
Poverty rate1
16.9%
57% above the median place
Mean commute1
21 min
16% below the median place

More on work and pay, against the typical place

Income per person$32,366 −19%
Works from home11.7% −6%
Unemployment4.8% −1%
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureSouth DaytonaAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$56,57930% below
Income per person1$32,36619% below
Unemployment14.8%1% below
Average annual pay6County figure$56,16715% below
Pay growth, 1 year6County figure3.8%3% above
Jobs6County figure189,49426% above
Poverty rate116.9%57% above
Mean commute121 min16% below
Works from home111.7%6% below
Commutes by transit1County figure0.4%51% below
04

Who lives here

Household size is 2.1, 17% below the median place.

Household size1
2.1
17% below the median place
Median age1
48.5
24% above the median place
No health insurance1
11.7%
83% above the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

Bachelor's or higher24.8% −23%
High school or higher90.5% −2%
Born abroad8.2% −7%
Homes with broadband92.1% −0%
All 9 people measures
MeasureSouth DaytonaAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population113,5433250th largest
Population change since 202078.2%above (median 1.1%)
Median age148.524% above
Bachelor's or higher124.8%23% below
High school or higher190.5%2% below
Household size12.117% below
Born abroad18.2%7% below
No health insurance111.7%83% above
Homes with broadband192.1%0% below
05

Life in South Daytona

About 0 km of named paths and bike trails are mapped in and around the city, fewer than in 84% of the 2,301 places of 10,000 to 25,000 people we track. It is the lowest of 474 Florida places we track.

Founded or incorporated in 1878. 106 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks. Its history on Wikipedia

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents15.5 +53%
Playgrounds per 10k13.3 +41%
Grocery stores per 10k4.4 2.1×
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k28.1 2.5×
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.8 3.9×

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

National Park Service sites nearby

  • Canaveral National Seashore 31 miles
  • Fort Matanzas National Monument 41 miles
  • Castillo de San Marcos National Monument 54 miles

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars20.8 +0%
Shops35.0 +16%
Arts, recreation and fitness5.4 +32%
Doctors' offices and clinics21.3 +5%
Child care centers2.1 −9%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Public schools13
1
89% below the median place
Public school students13
794
84% below the median place
Students per teacher13
15.0
3% below the median place
All 18 schools and local life measures
MeasureSouth DaytonaAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools13189% below
Public school students1379484% below
Students per teacher1315.03% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k9County figure20.80% above
Shops per 10k9County figure35.016% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k9County figure5.432% above
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k9County figure21.35% above
Child care centers per 10k9County figure2.19% below
Parks per 10k1015.553% above
Playgrounds per 10k1013.341% above
Grocery stores per 10k104.4109% above
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k1028.1152% above
Libraries per 10k100.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails100.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi100.8286% above
Nearest National Park Service site1130.80% above
National Park Service sites within 60 miles11350% above
National Register listings12County figure106above (median 13)
06

Safety, weather and risk

January average low is 48°F, 92% above the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached South Daytona. Larger places are fetched first.

January average low14
48°F
92% above the median place
Average temperature14
72°F
31% above the median place
Hurricane risk15
98.5
39% above the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureSouth DaytonaAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high14County figure92°F6% above
January average low14County figure48°F92% above
Average temperature14County figure72°F31% above
Annual precipitation14County figure51.9 in18% above
Natural hazard risk15County figure96.24% above
Hurricane risk15County figure98.539% above
Tornado risk15County figure98.321% above
Wildfire risk15County figure96.357% above
Heat wave risk15County figure85.55% below
Median air quality index16County figure415% below
Good air days16County figure81.4%19% above
08

South Daytona in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 29% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 29% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases. On projected 2030 affordability, South Daytona does better than 26% of places. Its projected home value growth beats 68%.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$1,379/mo (2024)$1,780/mo$1,460 to $2,170/mo+4.3%
Median household income$56,579 (2024)$72,500$61,500 to $86,000+4.2%
Median home value$222,200 (2024)$323,000$234,000 to $444,000+6.4%
Population13,894 (2025)14,47013,880 to 15,080+0.8%

The median home would be worth 4.5 years of the median income in 2030, against 3.9 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like South Daytona

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Boiling Spring Lakes, NC$1,385$62,676Compare
Winsted, CT$1,183$64,871Compare
Palmetto, FL$1,366$62,621Compare
Zephyrhills, FL$1,148$52,108Compare
Zephyrhills, FLPalmetto, FLWinsted, CTBoiling Spring Lakes, NCSouth Daytona, FLSouth DaytonaBoiling Spring LakesWinstedPalmettoZephyrhillsSouth DaytonaBoiling Spring LakesWinstedPalmettoZephyrhills

Places built like South Daytona

Its statistical peers: the closest matches on size, age, education, homeownership, household size, housing age, origin and remote work, in the same part of the country. Cost and outcomes are left out of the match, so the table shows how South Daytona performs against places like it.

PlaceRent to incomeIncome growthPop. change
South Daytona, FL29.2%6.8%/yr8.2%
Lenoir, NC16.0%6.3%/yr0.1%Compare
Brooksville, FL24.8%11.3%/yr14.5%Compare
Tarboro, NC20.3%10.9%/yr2.5%Compare
Waynesville, NC23.4%5.1%/yr8.7%Compare
New Port Richey East, FL29.7%3.3%/yrn/aCompare
Cocoa, FL24.2%10.2%/yr4.1%Compare

Common questions

Is South Daytona a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Its Citytistics Index is 35 out of 100, better than 35% of the places we rate and 184th of 474 in Florida. The median rent takes 29.2% of the median household's income, a bigger share than in 94% of the 2,301 places of 10,000 to 25,000 people we track. On cost, space and class size it scores 12 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is South Daytona expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 29.2% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $222,200.

What salary do you need to live in South Daytona?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $55,160 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to South Daytona?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Boiling Spring Lakes, NC, Winsted, CT, Palmetto, FL and Zephyrhills, FL.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. Population Estimates · US Census Bureau · Vintage 2025
  8. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  9. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  10. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  11. National Park Service sites · Wikidata (CC0), units operated by the National Park Service · Retrieved 2026-11
  12. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  13. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  14. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  15. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  16. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares South Daytona with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for South Daytona itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/south-daytona-florida

Citytistics. “South Daytona, Florida.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/south-daytona-florida/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.