North Miami/Opa-locka (33167) Yields 10.3% in Miami, Doubling the Worst Suburbs

Yields across 79 ZIP codes in Miami (Miami-Dade County) range from 10.3% in North Miami/Opa-locka (33167) down to under 4% in the premium coastal enclaves. That spread is wider than the gap between short-term rental and long-term rental at the city level, which means WHERE you buy matters more than HOW you rent it out. The pattern is consistent: the highest yields cluster in the affordable inland north of the county, while Miami Beach, Coral Gables, and Key Biscayne deliver the worst income returns despite being the names every investor knows. This ranking shows which suburbs lead on gross yield, and why the pattern exists.

North Miami/Opa-locka (33167) Leads at 10.3%, Roughly Double the Coastal Premium Suburbs

The top five Miami-Dade suburbs by long-term rental gross yield share one feature: entry prices well below the county median of $696,814. Each delivers monthly rent in the mid-$2,700s to mid-$3,500s on a sale price under $460,000, and that price-to-rent ratio is what produces yields north of 7.9%.

Gross yields = annual income / sale price. Based on 3-bed house medians. The dashboard shows every property type and bedroom count.

The Pattern: Inland North of the County Wins on Income

North Miami/Opa-locka (33167) tops the ranking because rent in the area has held up while sale prices have stayed well below Miami-Dade's coastal premium. This is classic suburban yield economics: the area is far enough from South Beach and Brickell that buyer demand is mostly local owner-occupiers and small landlords, not international capital chasing trophy assets. Rents, by contrast, are pulled upward by the same regional housing shortage that drives the entire Miami market. The result is one of the widest rent-to-price ratios in the county.

El Portal/Miami Shores (33168) and Downtown Miami (33128) sit in roughly the same band. El Portal/Miami Shores (33168) benefits from proximity to Miami Shores while still being priced for the working-tenant market, and the rent of $3,527 on $455,000 produces a yield that few coastal suburbs can match. Downtown Miami (33128) is the outlier in the top three because Downtown Miami carries genuine short-term rental demand from business and convention travellers, which means the long-term rental yield of 9.2% is supplemented by a higher short-term ceiling than the inland suburbs can reach.

The strategic split between these top suburbs is worth noting. Downtown Miami (33128) is likely to perform even better as a short-term rental given the constant flow of business and event travellers, while North Miami/Opa-locka (33167), El Portal/Miami Shores (33168), and Brownsville/Liberty City (33147) sit in residential areas where the long-term rental thesis is cleaner and tenant demand is steady. Florida's permissive state framework on vacation rentals (the state preempts local bans enacted after June 2011) means short-term rental remains broadly available across the county, but visitor demand still concentrates near the beach, downtown, and the airport corridor.

The Yield-Price Trade-Off Is Stark Across Miami

Yield falls as price rises, and Miami illustrates this more sharply than most US markets. An investor entering at $408,000 in North Miami/Opa-locka (33167) versus $696,814 at the county median faces a very different capital-risk profile: a smaller mortgage, a smaller deposit, and a smaller absolute exposure to a downturn. The trade-off is that the upside on capital growth is also smaller, because price appreciation in Miami-Dade has historically been led by the coastal and lifestyle suburbs that yield the least.

The mechanic behind the inverse relationship is straightforward: rent is paid out of local wages and tracks them, while premium sale prices are set by buyers who pay for amenity, lifestyle, and growth potential rather than income. When sale prices rise faster than wages, yields compress. Miami has lived through exactly this pattern over the past decade, and it is why the cheapest one-third of ZIPs in the county now yield roughly double the most expensive third.

Premium Suburbs: Capital Growth Story, Not an Income Story

For context, here is how some of Miami's most in-demand suburbs compare. These are established areas where investors typically accept lower yields in exchange for capital growth, liquidity, and the ability to attract premium short-term rental guests.

High-demand suburbs for context. Same methodology as the yield ranking above.

These suburbs yield less on long-term rental because buyers are paying for the address rather than the rent roll. The thesis is total return: a 4% gross yield plus 5-7% annual capital growth still beats an 8% gross yield with flat prices, if the growth holds. The short-term rental yield reshapes the picture for a few of these areas, especially the beachfront and waterfront suburbs where nightly rates can exceed $400-$600 and occupancy holds even in the summer shoulder season. For the inland premium suburbs, however, short-term rental does not rescue the income case; tourist demand simply does not concentrate there.

What the Ranking Doesn't Show

A ranked yield table is the right starting point, but it is not the whole story. High yields can mean depressed prices rather than strong rents, and that distinction matters: a suburb where prices have fallen because of structural decline (employment loss, flood risk, insurance unavailability) is not the same as one where rent has simply outpaced sale price growth. South Florida insurance costs and flood zone designations vary dramatically across Miami-Dade ZIPs and can convert a top-ranked yield into a marginal investment once carry costs are factored in.

Capital growth is the second blind spot. The premium suburbs in the second table have historically delivered the strongest long-run total returns in Miami-Dade despite their thin yields, and an investor optimising purely for income may walk away from the wealth-building part of the deal. Vacancy risk is the third: some of the highest-yielding inland ZIPs have thinner rental pools than the coastal demand zones, which means a vacant month in a 12-month year can wipe out the yield premium over a more liquid suburb.

View Miami in the dashboard → Free preview · every bedroom count and property type

Miami-Dade Yields Sit Below Both the National and Florida Medians

The Miami-Dade county-level long-term rental yield of 5.0% sits just below both the Florida state median of 6.1% and the national median of 5.3%. The state figure is dragged upward by genuinely cheap inland Florida ZIPs (Bay, Holmes, Hernando counties) where 3-bed houses sell for under $200,000 and yield 13-17%. Miami's top-ranked North Miami/Opa-locka (33167) at 10.3% comfortably beats both benchmarks, while the county median and the bottom of the Miami-Dade ranking both trail the national average. The takeaway: Miami is a premium market overall, but suburb selection within it can lift you well into above-average yield territory or sink you below it. The coastal premium suburbs are bought for capital growth and lifestyle, not income, and that trade-off is the central decision facing any Miami investor.

For investors weighing other Florida options, see data sources for the full state comparison and market score methodology for how the rankings are built. Explore Miami-Dade rental data in the dashboard for ZIP-by-ZIP breakdowns at every bedroom count and property type.

Data reflects market conditions as of April 2026.

This information is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial or legal advice. Regulations and market conditions change frequently. Verify current rules with local authorities before making investment decisions.